'Almost impossible to use': city councillor calls for better sidewalk snow clearing
A city councillor wants snow plows to do a better job of clearing Winnipeg's sidewalks next winter.
St. Boniface councillor Matt Allard said the city's current policy to plow sidewalks to a "compacted snow surface" isn't good enough.
He said it causes issues in the spring during the thaw/melt cycle.
"There comes a time every year where they're just almost impossible to use in our weather," said Allard.
Allard has a motion before the city's public works committee calling for a "plow to pavement" pilot project during the next winter season.
He wants city officials to select one sidewalk per council ward for the trial.
"We can at least try plowing at least one sidewalk, per street, per ward," said Allard.
At the end of the trial, council would look at the results and decide on wider implementation across the city, if possible.
It's an idea that appeals to Debby McLeod, who has trouble navigating sidewalks in the winter.
"They're pretty much impassable. Wheelchair tires don't have much in the way of tread."
McLeod hopes this pilot project will get the green light from city council.
"I think that would be incredible. That's taking down a barrier," she said.
Allard said he has brought up the idea before, but was told by city administrators that many of Winnipeg's sidewalks are too broken up for that level of clearing.
But Allard said any city streets that have recently been rebuilt will also have new sidewalks.
"The sidewalk's good to go," he said.
The motion will be discussed at the next meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Public Works on Feb. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.