Owen Sound Council has finalized the new winter roads maintenance plan.

Mayor Deb Haswell says there have been some concerns that some streets will not be cleared with the new strategy, but she says that is certainly not the case.

She says nobody will be left stranded this winter.

Haswell says the main roads will be the priority, and some side streets may not see a plow for 48 hours after the first snowfall.

But she stresses if there is an emergency, the city will make it a priority to clear that road.

Haswell says the new plan actually puts a system in place -- something the city has never had before.

She says they have quite a few maintenance staff retiring, and they are taking a great deal of knowledge with them when they leave.

She says the problem has been that new workers haven't known where to plow, and often the most common complaint the city was hearing was about plows on streets that are already cleared.

Haswell says that won't be happening anymore.

And she says the new plan puts out two shifts of workers, with the first shift starting at 4 AM.

Haswell says this will eliminate the need for a lot of the overtime calls that are made, and in the end save the city close to 200 thousand dollars.

But she notes winter is never the same twice, and the snowfall could always wind up being lighter or heavier than expected.