Homeless in Vancouver: Vancouver winter is a matter of degree(s)

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      After it snowed yesterday morning in Vancouver, temperatures hovered at or above zero most of the day. This allowed a thin blanket of snow to cling to the sidewalks, side streets, and back alleys of Fairview. At about 8 p.m. it even resumed snowing lightly—I was at Cambie, heading west. In the half hour it took me to meander my way slowly to Granville Street, the temperature ticked up ever so slightly; the light snow became sleet and the snow on the ground began to recede. The temperature continued to see-saw all evening.

      When I left McDonald’s at 10:30 p.m., Broadway was filmed with glistening water but the sleet on my bike had frozen. The falling sleet was proper snow again, and the back alleys were thinly covered with crunchy snow.

      For a few blocks at least things were all polar ice.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      But again, by the time I reached Oak Street—four measly blocks—the temperature rose enough to turn the snow to light rain.

      Surely the temperature would drop again—the water on the streets would freeze overnight making the morning commute very slippery. That’s why the city salt trucks could be seen speeding to and fro along West Broadway all evening—so many streets and so little time to season them all.

      A battery of salt trucks get the west side of Vancouver ready for the morning.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      Stanley Q. Woodvine is a homeless resident of Vancouver who has worked in the past as an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer.

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