Tired of falling, councillor wants to give icy sidewalks the slip

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This article was published 03/12/2020 (1808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s fallen multiple times on pavement so slick that even thick winter boots couldn’t keep him upright.

“I can remember two total wipeouts. Just falling onto the ground and ending up horizontal,” said St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard.

Now Allard, chairman of city council’s public works committee, is searching for ways to make sidewalks and active transportation routes less slippery, despite our lengthy season of ice and snow.

The councillor, who has tried to rely on Winnipeg Transit and active transportation as much as possible since January 2018, said he’s fallen a few times over the past two years, including one incident that damaged his computer.

In November, he said he slipped twice in one walk while turning right onto Main Street near City Hall, at one point grabbing a building to avoid hitting the ground.

“The sidewalk was icy and slippery and the road was pristine, bare pavement,” said Allard.

After he raised the issue on social media, Allard said he heard from hundreds of Winnipeggers who also want the city to find a way to make sidewalks and paths less treacherous.

The councillor said he’ll raise a motion at a council committee in January, which would require city staff to study how to improve the condition of sidewalks and active transportation paths. The motion will call on the public service to study the health costs linked to slips and falls on sidewalks and how changes to snow clearing and ice treatments could make the surfaces safer.

“I think there are always ways to make things better, so I’m asking the questions,” he said.

Allard said he wants the city to consider factors such as increasing sand and salt treatments to add traction, new snow and ice control equipment, and an altered snow clearing schedule.

Southdale resident Mary McWilliams said she agrees there’s room for improvement, especially on the Vermillion Road sidewalk she avoids walking on each winter.

“There’s just a sheet of ice,” said McWilliams. “I’m a senior, and I had a hip replacement a couple of years ago, so I would not even try to walk on it for fear of falling.”

Last winter, the city implemented some sidewalk and active transportation snow-clearing improvements, which cost about $800,000 annually.

Michael Cantor, Winnipeg’s manager of streets maintenance, said those changes ensure that snow is cleared from entire active transportation routes to avoid gaps and that top-priority sidewalks (typically the most used ones) are cleared each time at least 5 cm of snow accumulates on them.

“Before, some of those paths weren’t cleared on a priority basis and they were more cleared based on whether resources are available. Now… it’s defined based on usage,” said Cantor.

Cantor said that’s triggered a “dramatic improvement” in snow clearing, while ice control is still performed on an as-needed basis, following sidewalk inspections and 311 complaints.

Cantor said the city could explore additional work to remove ice, though changes would largely depend on how much council is willing to pay for the service.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga