Winter Walking and Cycling

[MidTowner]

It's good that they are keeping the bare pavement standard, for the reasons in the report: anything else would be too subjective and open to interpretation. Last winter, we paid bylaw officers to walk around guessing whether a sidewalk was passable for someone with a mobility device, when they had never used one. Then we paid bylaw supervisors to argue with citizens like me about what criteria they might be dreaming up to make that guess.

More importantly than that, the report recommends adding the openings of sidewalks onto roadways. Nobody was responsible for this part of the sidewalk in the past, and the best the city could offer was that "most" property owners on corner lots were probably clearing them. Making sure people can cross the street is a good thing.