04-20-2018, 12:12 PM
This comment is so frustrating.
https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo/commen...e/dxon1mj/
https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo/commen...e/dxon1mj/
JayWalkerIT Wrote:It it realistic to expect sidewalks to always be clear to the bare pavement under any system? Is it necessary? Personally I think it is not.
-Even if the sidewalk is cleared, it's still winter and it likely will snow again soon or is snowing while the sidewalk is being cleared.
-Even if the sidewalk is cleared quickly and nicely, the roads probably are not, so someone in my neighborhood can push a stroller or walker for one block before being trapped at an intersection.
-The bylaw is 24 hours after it's stopped snowing - that can mean 1.5 weeks after it's started snowing. I also suspect this bylaw is difficult to enforce except in extreme circumstances where someone has left a large amount of snow for several days after the snowfall has stopped.
What I'm getting at is that I think it is unrealistic to expect sidewalks to always be clear. They won't be. The roads can't even be kept clear with a large fleet of plows that go much faster than a sidewalk machine. The roads can't be clear even though the slick conditions lead to property damage, injuries, and fatalities. No one expects the roads to always be clear and we accept that winter can mean hardship and that you may not be able to get where you want to go. We need to accept that for sidewalks as well. Having the city plow the sidewalk won't change that. Handing out more tickets won't change that.
The tickets are given out on a complaint basis which is fine. I shovel my sidewalk for the benefit of my neighbor, not because I fear a ticket. I shovel her sidewalk too because she's over 80. I shovel frequently. If I am threatened with a ticket, the results will not be as good. It will put me and many others in an adversarial mood and I will do the minimum I need to avoid a ticket and I will fight any ticket I do receive. Yes ticket where there are complaints and real problems, but ticketing where homeowners are already generally doing their best can backfire.