Moncton greeted by grass instead of snow to start 2025

Grass greeted many residents in Moncton instead of snow to start 2025 this week.

Snowplows at D&S Snow Removal Services Inc. remain off, but despite the current outdoor conditions, some say this winter isn’t lacking for snow.

“We’ve been out five times already when this time last year, we weren’t out at all,” said operations manager Lisa Brush. “So it’s just so hard to say. We were out in November this year, which that was a surprise because we haven’t been out in November in a few years.”

Brush says last year her crews only went out a total of six times.

“Winter’s just starting, I mean, really, in snow removal, so we have no idea what to expect,” she said. “The season typically starts in January. We don’t care for the mild temperatures when it snows because it brings its own challenges for snow removal, so we don’t like to see the green. It’s just an indication that when it does snow, it’s going to be heavy and wet snow.”

When it comes to the fun stuff like tobogganing, building snowmen and skiing, no snow means no winter activities, but the City of Moncton says they aren’t behind yet.

“This time of year it’s always difficult to know whether we’re going to have snow or not and so we don’t, as a city, do a lot of programing throughout the holiday season,” said community services general manager Isabelle LeBlanc. “We really just tend to leave our spaces as is. If there’s snow, great, then we groom the trails and away we go, and if there isn’t, then certainly our parks are still open for people to walk or run or cycle, whatever the weather may permit.”

Staff members are working hard to keep the Ian Fowler Oval open for skating. Other outdoor neighbourhood rinks aren’t built until January due to winter conditions and volunteers.

“Neighbourhood skating rinks are organized by volunteers within that neighbourhood, so we need to have people who put their hand up and say, ‘I’m willing to take care of the rink for the winter,’ so obviously we don’t want to get people working and then have to stop for a few weeks so we really wait until winter kicks in and there’s a sufficient base of snow and ice that will last throughout the winter hopefully,” said LeBlanc.

She notes staff will start grooming city parks as soon as the snow permits it.

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