Despite the unexpectedly cold and snowy winter, the task was successfully accomplished, Erkki Vaheoja, head of construction and maintenance services at the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department, told ERR.

A total of nearly 180,000 cubic meters of snow has been removed from Tallinn's streets so far this winter. According to Vaheoja, that is much more than last year, though it is about average for the last five years.

"We have managed to clear the streets. Of course, there are still problems, especially in those parts of the city where the streets are narrow and there is nowhere to put the snow, or where snow removal is difficult because cars are parked on the streets," he explained.

"But we did our best, and I think the result has not been too bad. There is certainly room for improvement, but given this was the first season, I would say our partners have done a great job," Vaheoja said.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said that even though several different companies were involved in the effort to clear the capital's streets – four from the private sector and Kadriorg Park, which is owned by the city – in general, they managed to get the job done.

"There were some concerns here and there. But I must admit that the overall picture across the city is something we can be satisfied with. There is always room for improvement, but it is safe to say that this year the snow was cleared better than in any previous year," said Järvan.

"We still have some kinks to iron out. A common concern is that snowbanks are being pushed up against the boundaries of maintenance areas and driveways. Because most of the workers are seasonal, and the city took on responsibility for a lot of new areas at the beginning of the season, there was some confusion initially, whereby our maintenance partners cleared the wrong areas," said Vaheoja.

However, these problems were limited to the period at the start of the winter, and things started to work better as the season progressed, he added.

"There are no major problems to report on behalf of the city. Our maintenance partners did a good job and we did not have to fine anyone," said Vaheoja.

Spring cleaning slowly getting underway

Spring cleaning work on Tallinn's streets usually gets underway after the last snowfall of the winter – typically in April. However, according to Järvan, on this occasion work on some of the city's larger streets will begin as soon as next week.

Smaller roads and sidewalks will still have to wait, however, as more snow is still likely to fall.

In order to ensure the safety of pedestrians in the city, it is not yet reasonable to sweep granite grit from the sidewalks, Järvan explained.

"Next week, we will start cleaning the larger thoroughfares and then move forward step by step, depending on what the weather forecast has in store for us in the future," said the deputy mayor.

According to Vaheoja, the same amount of granite was spread on the city's streets this winter as during the previous one.

"The amount is the same – just under 1,500 tons," he said. "In comparison to the previous five years, we have used around 1,000 tons less granite this time. It may seem like there are a lot of granite chips in the city, but in reality, there aren't that many."

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