Councillor demands better sidewalk clearing

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This article was published 25/01/2024 (607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A City of Winnipeg councillor is pushing to make the clearing of sidewalks right down to pavement the same priority as removing snow on the busiest streets.

“People are getting hurt,” said Coun. Matt Allard, who introduced a motion at council’s meeting Thursday.

It calls for snow and ice to be cleared from sidewalks at the same level as Priority 1 streets, regardless of whether the sidewalk or active transportation path is on a Priority 1, 2, or 3 (residential) street.

The motion also calls for plow operators and contractors to be subject to fines if they push snow onto sidewalks and don’t remove it, and for the city to establish a reserve fund for snow-clearing operations.

He has advocated for improved snow clearing for several years, but recently while taking the bus, the councillor for St. Boniface said he noticed the road was bare but the sidewalk hadn’t been plowed and pedestrians were having to trudge through snow.

The difference in clearing was obvious along Archibald Street. When he posted about the issue on social media, he heard similar complaints from Winnipeggers who have struggled to walk on sidewalks during this relatively mild winter.

“People slip and fall, get injured, and in some cases, some injuries can lead to fatalities, so people are suffering,” Allard said.

“I don’t think, as a human rights city, that our snow-clearing policy conforms to human rights,” he said.

The councillor maintained the current snow-clearing policy fails to uphold the rights of mobility and equal access to government services. He said people with mobility issues and people who don’t drive cars should be able to get around just as easily as motorists do in winter.

“To me, this is a blatant violation of people’s human rights because of freedom of mobility and equality of access to services from government.”

His motion was referred to the public works committee.

Winnipeg’s council-approved snow-clearing policy was recently updated, and this is the first winter the city has had 15 additional sidewalk snow-clearing machines to put to use. They’ve been out since late last year.

“Anecdotally, our crews and inspectors say it has definitely made a positive difference in the service we are able to provide,” stated Julie Dooley, communications co-ordinator for public works.

The cost of snow clearing so far this winter season is not yet available, a spokesperson for the public works department said Thursday.

Every winter for about a decade, the city has gone over-budget on snow removal. That’s part of the reason Allard’s motion asks for a reserve fund, which he said would make the spending more transparent. A reserve fund existed in the past, but was removed due to cost pressures, he said.

“There has been progress, but I think there’s a lot more work to do,” Allard said.

The city’s priority levels for snow clearing are set based on traffic volumes and result in the busiest streets being cleared first. Priority 1 roads are supposed to be cleared to bare pavement within 36 hours of an average snowstorm, and are then salted.

Sidewalks along Priority 1 and Priority 2 streets are plowed after a five centimetre snowfall and maintained to “a compacted snow surface,” the policy states, except for downtown sidewalks, which are supposed to be cleared to bare pavement.

Typically, sidewalks in residential areas have been the lowest priority. Sidewalks along Priority 3 roads are plowed to a compacted snow surface only after all the other sidewalks have been plowed. The policy was changed last year to prioritize sidewalk plowing near elementary schools, and a deadline was added, stating sidewalk plowing should normally be finished within five days (not including weekends or holidays).

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com