EDMONTON - If this winter is as snowy as last, Bob Dunford’s signature wide-brim, felt fedora will become a staple on the news.
Edmonton’s inaugural “snow boss,” a 55-year-old veteran of the road management department, will command a fleet of up to 800 workers and equipment whenever a severe winter storm hits.
Every crew and contractor — from drainage to transit — will fall under his command, at least until the snow clears.
It’s a new position, one created to help focus Edmonton’s snow attack after last January’s heavy snow and roller-coaster temperatures led to clogged roads. It could be a high- profile and stressful position this year, said Dunford’s boss, Brice Stephenson.
“At one level, you’re dealing with technicians. At another level, you’re dealing with politicians. And the expectations citizens have this year is high,” Stephenson said.
But Dunford laughed a bit sheepishly every time he mentioned the authoritative title. “It’s a title. I’m not really sure if it changed anything, but it’s there,” he said, as his crews dealt with first storm of the season.
Only his wife uses the title, he said. “Well, she’s said, ‘OK, you’re the snow boss. Go clean the sidewalk.”
Dunford is an Edmontonian by birth. He grew up in the Wellington neighbourhood and now lives in the northeast. He drives a small Hyundai Elantra with Michelin winter tires, and is the type of dad that signed his two kids up for winter driving lessons the first year they got their licences.
“Cold pavement has a lower friction than warm pavement, even when it’s dry,” he said Friday. That means you have to watch how closely you’re following vehicle, even when the roads are clear.
Dunford started working for the city in 1978, as a NAIT-trained pavement technician. He currently oversees pothole repairs and snow clearing.
The first sight of snow this year, which he caught through the window of an office at the main maintenance yard, brought excitement, not dread, he said.
“I do like what I do,” he said. Also, “I like to be outdoors with the kids. There’s nothing more fun than taking the grandchildren tobogganing for the first time. That is fun.”
He has four grandchildren, ages to five months to five years.
Dunford has a calm approach to life, necessary for this type of job, said Stephenson.
He’s also very connected to his front line, calling his managers every morning just after the shifts change at 7 a.m.
He becomes snow boss as soon as a storm packing 25 to 30 centimetres of snow appears on the horizon. Then it’s his job to gather representatives from fire, drainage, communications, Epcor, bylaw and other departments into his boardroom, to make sure everyone stays focused on priorities.
The key to being a good snow boss, or any other leader, Dunford said, is to keep a proper perspective.
“You can’t be too narrow -ocused. This is one city. When we do snow operations, how does it impact drainage, fire, transit, Epcor or
water? Those are all things you have to consider.
“In a leadership role, you have to be maintaining that big perspective.”
Lloyd Meyer, his superintendent of services, said Dunford, rarely seen without one of his four fedoras, is “definitely a snow professional and a character to work with.
“He could lose the hat, but then he wouldn’t be Bob.”
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