Winter Walking and Cycling

[danbrotherston]

Not as expensive as having everybody shovel their own. Unless the city is full of unemployed people, their time is worth something; several hours worth of time every year is worth more than any estimate I’ve ever heard of the cost of City clearing. If people had a choice between clearing their own sidewalks and paying $40 a year or something, how many people do you think would keep shovelling their own? Note, that just not shovelling it and taking an infinitesimal chance of being ticketed isn’t what I’m talking about — I’m talking about actually shovelling it.

Also it is obviously way cheaper to clear sidewalks than roads; but nobody raises the idea of only clearing some lanes of the road in order to leave room in the budget for sidewalks.

What is so hard about understanding this basic logic? Until you explain, in detail and with specificity, what is wrong with the above line of thinking, you’ll have to pardon me for doubting your sincerity in claiming you have actually considered this issue.

Let me put the logic another way... or better yet, put you in the decision-making place where council lives.

Simplifying capital/operating expenditures for the moment to make them applicable to this situation-- the budget we just approved had somewhere around 1.5 million in funds we could use to be progressive.  We invested largely in affordable housing, climate change, cycling and improving city-tree-maintenance.  Citywide snow clearing (at the Ottawa level) would be in the range of 6 million every year (plus inflation)... my napkin-math est.  This means if we started allocating ALL disposable funds now, and did nothing else... we could roll out the service sometime in 2024. 

Four years would go by with no further advancement on climate change, no advancement on a minimum grid for cycling, no advancement in affordable housing or anything else people care about.  You doubt my sincerity of thought and consideration on this issue?  I've researched, asked questions, written articles, and I'm spending my time detailing thoughts here late on a Saturday night, months before the actual vote.  And I'm spending it with people I know are unlikely to agree, rather than most who prefer an echo-chamber of the like-minded.  I'm not sure your expectations of consideration are entirely fair.

If cost is your real objection, then I'm happy to have that discussion, because that's an honest one to have.

First, I'd argue that we should have a tax increase to pay for it, unlike less visible things like inflation and tree pruning, I think the average resident would at least understand the increase clearly, "yes, I pay x more per year, but now I see sidewalk plows"...this worked for the DTK zone (snow clearing is on my taxes, and I'm happy about it), now I realize not everyone agrees, but at least we can have that discussion.  And keep in mind, our taxes were basically flat this year.Like I said, the ta I realize a lot of people aren't because of the aformentioned inability to understand inflation, but those who do look closely are happy. In fact, so happy, I think we should have actually increased the budget in line with other jurisdictions (CoW and RoW had much greater increases, with less investment) in order to fund, say, increased clearing--this was the year to do it, when the increase was already low. In fact, so happy, I think we should have actually increased the budget in line with other jurisdictions (CoW and RoW had much greater increases, with less investment) in order to fund, say, increased clearing--this was the year to do it, when the increase was already low.

Next, sure, lets minimize that increase, lets cut back from the roads budget--do cul-de-sacs and cresents only at the provincial minimum standards--people already routinely claim that the city does not ever plow them, so why bother, if people don't believe you do it anyway, stop clearing leaves from the side of roads--it's a hazard for cyclists anyway, making a priority clearing network this year, and consider adding more services in future years, etc.

But at the end of the day, this is a more honest discussion than we're having, where you're arguing it's a bad idea because of the environment, which is frustrating at best, or it's a bad idea because we can do just fine with property owner clearing is better, which is so clearly not working, or that increased bylaw enforcement works, which again, isn't borne out by the experience walking around our city...etc. This is an honest discussion.