Blowing snow in early December left this road in Castleridge impassable. (Submitted by Glen Little)

City hall is setting aside up to $10 million extra for snow removal, with the goal of keeping snow on residential streets no deeper than 12 centimetres.

Faced with complaints about snowplowing following fierce December snow storms two years in a row, officials unveiled an interim snow policy on Monday and earmarked millions from the fiscal stability reserve to plow more residential roads.

Within the current budget of $23 million, there is only enough cash to cover about 7,000 kilometres, or less than half, of Calgary's roads. The $10 million top-up will help road crews reach many of the rest.

The goal is to make roads passable, keeping residential streets down to 12 centimeters of road snow and removing ruts twice a year, said Ryan Jestin, the city's director of roads.

"What this interim policy will not do is provide bare pavement on every road in the city of Calgary, nor will it eliminate every rut in residential roads," he said.

Calgary doesn't have the cash to completely clear residential streets so Calgarians need to drive safely and keep their vehicle in winter driving order, which includes equipping vehicles with appropriate tires, he said.

Jestin warned that some driveways and vehicles could be blocked by banks of plowed snow, called windrows, and it will usually be up to homeowners to clear a way out.

The city's interim snow clearing policy also includes:

• Clearing and spot sanding primary streets at the same time as spot sanding residential streets.
• Focusing on known trouble spots including bus stops, steep grades and high collision locations.
• Giving the road maintenance manager the power to order the removal of windrows.

The $10 million is meant as an interim solution until a full audit, expected before next winter, is done on the city's snow removal plan.

Calgary has gone over its snow removal budget 14 out of the past 17 years.