Winter Walking and Cycling

[danbrotherston]

It's been eight years for me (since moving here), but specifically six (since I've had kids and noticed it more poignantly). I'm curious about the results of the pilot. I do think there is every possibility of tinkering with it to make conditions better under the current system but, then again, there's been plenty of tinkering the last three years, and not much improvement that I've noticed.

I don't think there is any feasible improvement under the current system. Not that it isn't possible, just that it isn't feasible. Basically, there'd have to be aggressive pro-active enforcement, with fines big enough (or some adjustment) to ensure that commercial properties are not able to pay for the right to ignore it. Additionally, for the few holdouts, there'd have to be a far faster (like, less than the current 3-4 months (not exaggerating here), more like 36 hours) response time on fixing missed sidewalks. All together this would probably result in high compliance and reliably clear sidewalks...maybe even better than city clearing. But no city councillor would support it. For one, the actual cost to the city will be far higher, even counting fine revenue, and for two, the complaints will be vicious. There is not a single councillor who would support such a program, and in fact, most have already balked at the response they've gotten from people as a result of the minimal pilot project that was implemented.

The real problem is there are a few councillors who don't actually believe there is actually any problem, they walk in their neighbourhood, and see only a few uncleared sidewalks, and when they come to them, they walk over them, without really noticing, because they're able, more, they probably manage to avoid walking anywhere meaningful the day or two after a storm, thus, they live in denial like so many of our fellow citizens.

So those few (and their many many supporters) have no motive to fix a problem they don't believe exists, no matter how they feel it should be fixed.