Winter Walking and Cycling

[dtkmelissa]

I live in the pilot area and honestly, I was a bit worried that if sidewalks were not cleared well that it would give people reason to not support sidewalk clearing. However, I have been very impressed with the level of clearance and have heard from many neighbours the very same. I then wondered if the clear sidewalks was more due to a milder winter than say last year. However, every time I end up in a neighbourhood that's not in the pilot, I am reminded that's not the case. I have sludged through some neighbourhoods, many days after any snow has fallen, only to come home to my neighbourhood's very walkable sidewalks. Whereas last year's proactive enforcement made little, if any, improvement to the walkabiity of the city.

If the city takes over sidewalk clearing, will there be complaints about the level of service? i suspect so. However, I hear complaints about road clearing too and no one seems to be suggesting that we should cut that service just because all roads can't be cleared as soon as the last snow flake hits the ground.

I'm also curious about concerns about costs with this work as I don't think I have ever heard any serious, consistent concerns around road clearing. Because we as a society believe we need clear roads throughout the entire city, few people question the costs associated with that. Unfortunately we don't have that benefit with sidewalk clearing.