02-17-2019, 09:26 PM
(02-17-2019, 02:23 PM)jamincan Wrote: The whole issue of salt use is an interesting one. Walking around DTK, there were definitely side walks that were dangerously icy and it was apparent that the homeowner had used an abundance of salt to little effect. Once ice accumulates, like it has in front of these homes, clearing the ice is an arduous task for the city or the homeowner. It didn't have to be that way, though, plenty of their neighbours had sidewalks clear to the concrete. It's clear, though, that those homeowners where ice accumulated wer slow to respond to the snow accumulation and the result is far more difficult for everyone to deal with.
In those cases, the best approach, both in terms of getting rid of the ice, and in terms of reducing salt use, is to spread a conservative amount of salt, allow it to reach the base where it will help loosen the ice from the sidewalk, and then go at the ice with a metal shovel or spade. I'm not sure there's a suitable approach the city could take at this point that wouldn't be unreasonably labour-intensive.
That said, this entire situation would likely have been avoided if the snow was removed promptly. The ice layer wouldn't be as thick, and salt would be more effective. This is true for roads as well, for what it's worth.
I wonder if it's possible to have split responsibility. The city would clear snow with plows, but homeowners are still responsible for making sure sidewalks and pathways on their property are safely passable. In most cases, that would require no intervention on their part, in some cases, it might mean spreading a bit of sand or salt or going out with a shovel when accumulation is particularly severe.
I have not encountered a city cleared sidewalk that had ice this weekend and I have done a lot of walking.
Perhaps with a lower LOS, that would happen, but at the current LOS seen in DTK, on the trails, and on at least one city cleared sidewalk outside DTK, there is no ice issue, and generally, a reasonable amount of salt has been used to achieve bare pavement.
As for a split responsibility, I suspect that's going to have even less compliance than we currently see with snow clearing bylaw.