The heavy snowfall which has lasted during the entire day has brought almost 80% of street maintenance equipment to the streets. 

The weather forecast predicts heavy snowfall during the following days and the layer of snow expected to fall could reach 20 centimeters. Nearly 8 centimeters of snow fell in the capital by 2 pm today.

“As of midnight the partners of  Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department and city districts have noted that at times all street maintenance equipment was clearing the streets of snow. 137 machines have been continuously in use, including tractors and plows and  47 street maintenance brigades. Nearly 173 tonnes of chloride has been spreaded across the streets of the capital.  In addition, snow has continuously been removed from areas where traffic conditions are becoming congested,” said Tarmo Sulg, the Head of Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department. “We understand that the conditions of the streets are uneven, but we will give our best to improve the situation. Although plows have been operative ever since the snowfall began, heavy and persistent snowfall means that some roads are still not completely cleared of snow. The city's contractors are monitoring the weather conditions closely, and if snowfall intensifies and road conditions deteriorate, the rest of the street cleaning equipment will be directed to the streets." added Sulg. 

In addition to pavements covered by contracts, around 50% of the total pavement volume has to be maintained by property owners, who are required to carry out de-slippage if needed. For this purpose, granular aggregates with a grain diameter of 2-6 mm may be used, but ash, sand or chlorides are not allowed on pavements. For its part, the city distributes granite aggregate free of charge to housing associations and owners, information on which is available from the municipal authorities.

Citizens can report poor street maintenance to the Tallinn helpline 14410.