City needs to pay for driveway repair: property owner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/05/2023 (912 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Eugene Osudar doesn’t know which branch of the City of Winnipeg destroyed the end of his driveway, but knows he doesn’t want to pay to repair it.

Osudar is now one of hundreds of residents who annually file claims saying city employees have damaged their property.

A duplex owner on Templeton Avenue, Osudar said he was in shock earlier this month, when he saw a roughly metre-wide stretch of one of the two paved driveways to his building was in pieces.

“I don’t know exactly what happened,” he said. “It looks like a heavy truck or vehicle went on the driveway and just chewed it up. I didn’t know until my tenants, on the other side of the duplex, came and said the end of the driveway was destroyed.

“It is just unbelievable.”

Neighbours have since told him street sweepers were out that evening, along with trucks to dump debris into.

“It wasn’t snow removal equipment during the winter because when the snow and ice melted, everything was fine,” Osudar said. “This is significant damage, but I’m concerned no one will own up to it.

“I hope the city doesn’t expect me to pay for it and then get the money back. I know this will be expensive.”

Area resident Betty Svoboda said she was out for a walk when she saw the sweepers out along the street.

“I more or less saw it happen, I wasn’t very far from it,” Svoboda said. “It was clearing the street and then the pavement came up. It’s quite the mess.

“The city should fix it. We pay really good taxes.”

Coun. Ross Eadie’s executive assistant, Freedom Lapuz, has already visited the site and is helping Osudar with his complaint.

“I checked our records and it does not appear this was related to street sweeping,” Lapuz said. “Currently, I see that is scheduled for May 12.

“However, I see parks and open spaces had it down for boulevard sweeping, noting it was completed May 7. It sounds like that was the work.”

Lapuz said a property damage claim has been submitted to risk management and department representatives will be getting back to Osudar.

Meantime, Osudar joins 261 other Winnipeggers who have already filed claims this year, worth a total of $24,198.

Ken Allen, a public works spokesman, said all claims which are filed are investigated by a claims adjuster and outcomes follow principles of legal liability.

“The city does not carry out repairs to private property,” Allen said. “Each claim is unique (and) the adjuster will discuss settlement options with the claimant for any claims in which the city is accepting responsibility.”

Allen said if it turns out a private contractor, which the City of Winnipeg hired, is responsible for damage, the city will make the contractor respond to the claim. “Contractors are also responsible for repairing damage that they cause to city-owned curbs.”

The City of Winnipeg says it received a total of 691 damage claims, worth $377,672 in 2020, 718 claims costing $203,005 in 2021, and 1,472 claims representing $542,140 in 2022.

Allen said residents are told to contact Manitoba Public Insurance, if it is a vehicle claim, check with their private insurer if it is property damage, and, if not sure, to contact the city.

He said residents should file claims as quickly as possible in writing, phone, email or by fax to 311. The claim should include a detailed description of the damage, documentation including photos, receipts and estimates, and an outline why it is believed the city is responsible.

“In a typical year, snow removal, compared to all other city operations, results in the highest number of claims made against the city,” Allen said.

On Templeton Avenue, Osudar said he is upset the worker didn’t report the damage when it occurred.

“The person who did the damage should be held responsible and the supervisor on the scene, who did nothing… should be reprimanded and the worker retrained,” he said.

“It was still daylight when the damage was done. And a supervisor did nothing, saw nothing, knew nothing.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca