Snow Clearing

[Waterlooer]

Welcome to Wonderful Waterloo uhiwawa!

Last night, I went for my annual winter stroll through wonderful Waterloo

Does he mean the website?

I do not understand what his reference about the "youngsters" and making us more happy and less stressed ? It's the city's responsibility to clear the snow on major roads, but the citizens should be the ones to clear the side walks on small/medium sized streets.

[Greg Moore]

I don't understand the point of the letter either. It is as clear as mud.

[IEFBR14]

I think his message got mired in a snow drift of sarcasm.

He's trying to argue that a city as supposedly "intelligent" as Waterloo led by a mayor supposedly as committed to age-friendliness as Brenda Halloran should stop discriminating against pedestrians, especially seniors and others with mobility challenges, by joining other progressive communities to provide prompt and thorough snow plowing of all sidewalks -- just as she does now for drivers who use Waterloo's streets.

[BuildingScout]

It's the city's responsibility to clear the snow on major roads, but the citizens should be the ones to clear the side walks on small/medium sized streets.

I've actually worked out the cost of clearing the sidewalk using a bobcat and it comes to less than a loonie per home per snow storm. Compare this with the labour cost of people doing it manually or having contractors come, unload the snowblower, clear the sidewalk, load up again and drive to the next address.

[BigCityBoy]

I've actually worked out the cost of clearing the sidewalk using a bobcat and it comes to less than a loonie per home per snow storm. Compare this with the labour cost of people doing it manually or having contractors come, unload the snowblower, clear the sidewalk, load up again and drive to the next address.

As long as the RIM Park financing debt debacle remains on the books, the City of Waterloo is basically running on fumes (despite yearly over-inflation rises in property taxes AND a growing tax base).

[Section ThirtyOne]

Pardon me if this comes across as rude, but I already pay for my snow to be cleared.

I don't need to pay for everyone elses.

[mpd618]

Pardon me if this comes across as rude, but I already pay for my snow to be cleared.

I don't need to pay for everyone elses.

If you think the city clearing the snow off your sidewalk is about you, you're missing the point. The city clearing the snow off your sidewalk is much more about the city being able to guarantee that the sidewalks are reasonable passable for all of us.

That can also be accomplished with aggressive (and aggressively enforced) by-laws. On the other hand, if that's done, we'd hear loud clamoring for the city to take over from the people who are unable or unwilling to actually clear their sidewalks to standards that allow for them to have adequate usability as transportation.

[BuildingScout]

Pardon me if this comes across as rude, but I already pay for my snow to be cleared.

I don't need to pay for everyone elses.

Was there a suggestion from someone to personally bill you for the clean-up of the entire city? if not then your comment is aside from rude, not relevant to the discussion.

[IEFBR14]

Pardon me if this comes across as rude, but I already pay for my snow to be cleared.

I don't need to pay for everyone elses.

People who don't have cars also pay by way of taxes to clear all streets in their city and all roads in the region yet they're left to fend for themselves when it comes to sidewalks.

Pardon me if this sounds rude, but why should I pay to clear the snow off your street?

That's a rhetorical question. I know the answer and am OK with it. What I don't understand is why sidewalks should be any different, particularly in a city that wants to encourage pedestrians and cyclists, urbanization, age-friendliness and all sorts of similarly noble goals.

[BuildingScout]

That's a rhetorical question. I know the answer and am OK with it. What I don't understand is why sidewalks should be any different, particularly in a city that wants to encourage pedestrians and cyclists, urbanization, age-friendliness and all sorts of similarly noble goals.

Not only that, it would be at a net savings to all citizens since a bobcat with a plow to the ground driven by a professional operator beats in terms of cost any other mode of sidewalk snow clearing hands down.

[IEFBR14]

It's not just cost savings. There would be less pollution because it's easier to control emissions on the much smaller number of snow clearing machines that would be used by a city-operated system. For instance it's well known that small gasoline engines like those used in residential lawnmowers and snowblowers generate far more pollution than larger engines. This is in large part because it's not economical to install the sort of pollution controls that have been in automobiles for decades. Moreover, a residential engine that's used only for a few minutes at a time may never get to full operating temperature and therefore may not run as efficiently as a similar engine that's run for hours at a time. And of course city machinery is more likely to be well maintained, while the opposite is more likely with residential machinery. That too contributes to more efficient operation, lower fuel consumption and lower emissions.

On a similar note, when I lived in Toronto (North York) where sidewalks have been cleared by the municipality for years, many people including me used to notice that the city applied far more salt to sidewalks than was necessary. On some days there more salt on the sidewalks than snow on lawns. Often I could taste the salt in the air as I walked along the sidewalks. We complained. The city responded by better regulating the salt dispensers on their machinery so as to reduce the amount of salt they used. I notice in Waterloo that on sidewalks maintained by private companies the amount of salt used is at old North York levels or worse. Again having a common fleet of salt dispensers will make it easier to be more economical with salt use. Given our region's dependence on ground water this should be a much higher priority than it is.

[Greg Moore]

I'd love to see the cities and region clear all the sidewalks. As a person who uses a wheelchair to get around, in the winter I won't even bother trying to go two blocks in my neighborhood because I know there will be one unsafe or unpassable sidewalk. If I go, I'd need to use a road. No thanks. I'll drive.

I have a hard time believing the cities and region would look to add this as a taxpayer benefit anytime soon.

[WaterlooNative]

Elmira already clears everyone's sidewalks. Apparently, it adds about $60/year to each property's tax bill (or about $0.50/day/season). A few years ago Waterloo and Kitchener explored the option. Waterloo staff came up with a very reasonable cost, but Kitchener staff came up with a number that was absolutely astronomical (though the Waterloo staff apparently couldn't figure out how Kitchener did it). Since Waterloo is still dealing with RIM payments, they took a pass. Since Kitchener (rightly or wrongly) predicted a huge cost, they too took a pass. Though my house does not have a sidewalk, I would gladly have the City take responsibility for the sidewalks, after all, they put them there in the first place.

All it would really take is for one of the three municipalities to find a cost-effective way to do it and the other two would likely quickly follow suit.

[IEFBR14]

Down shovels: the city should clear the sidewalks
17-Mar-11 | Macleans | Link

Many Canadian cities plow their sidewalks, as well as roads. Like drinkable water and street lights that work, clear sidewalks are a basic municipal service in these urban centres. And yet numerous other cities have abandoned their sidewalk plows and dumped the job on residents instead. Is this fair?...

Cities that require citizens to do their own shovelling frequently cite the heavy cost of sidewalk clearing and limited budgets. But sidewalk plowing appears to be one of the great bargains of municipal governance. Winnipeg, for example, manages to keep its sidewalks free from snow and ice for $2 million a year, or less than $7 per household. Try finding a teenager willing to shovel your driveway just once for $7, let alone a whole season...

Beyond the financial or legal issues, however, the attitude of a city toward its sidewalks says a lot about political commitment and public concern. Nearly every Canadian city has recently made some sort of pledge in support of active transportation or becoming “pedestrian friendly.” A city that refuses to clean its own sidewalks makes a mockery of such commitments...

In the interests of fairness and common sense, next winter all Canadians should demand their cities provide snow-free sidewalks. Exhausted shovellers unite!

[UrbanWaterloo]

Kitchener Council Meeting: May 9, 2011 7:00PM
Agenda

8. NEW BUSINESS

(b) Sidewalk Snow Removal - Councillor D. Glenn-Graham has given notice that he will introduce the following motion for Council’s consideration:

That an initiative be undertaken to review the City's sidewalk snow removal processes relating to the Operations and By-law Enforcement Divisions, and that the review include input from relevant stakeholders from the community; and further,

That a report be presented to Council at the appropriate time, outlining the results of the review as well as recommendations to improve the processes.