Editorials

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Walking menace

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/21/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

The introduction of a system to warn Winnipeggers about winter-walking conditions will hopefully encourage more people to think before they walk on the city's snow- and ice-covered streets. Pedestrians should always assume, however, that walking conditions are treacherous.

The risk in relying on daily reports is it could lull walkers into a false sense of security. There is just no way of knowing for sure conditions are safe, even if such an advisory is issued.

A street might seem safe, either because it is dry or the snow is hard-packed, but conditions can change quickly depending on temperature, snowfall and even the tendency of some packed snow to turn to black ice.

As any Winnipegger knows, the walking might be easy for one block, but a high-risk journey the next. Street conditions change constantly, not just from day to day, but from section to section and even hour to hour.

Some critics have demanded the city institute a bare-pavement policy, but it's simply not possible. The city has an elaborate nine-page policy on snow clearing, but it only indicates when the city might begin plowing. In the case of priority streets, including the downtown, it's after five centimetres of snow have fallen.

Many homeowners and businesses do their best to keep the sidewalks along their frontage clean, but there are no guarantees of safe passage. In the end, pedestrians are responsible for taking precautions to ensure their safety during Winnipeg's long and unpredictable winters.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 21, 2012 A14

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