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City looking to improve winter sidewalk conditions, streamline reporting slippery paths

Icy Sidewalk
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WINNIPEG -

Winter is still a few months away, but the City of Winnipeg is looking into improving winter sidewalk conditions.

The report will be presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 9:30 a.m., which includes a change into how Winnipeggers can report slippery conditions.

Starting this winter, the report states those reporting slippery conditions to 311 will be asked whether the poor conditions are on a sidewalk, pathway, or street. Previously, only a general service request for slippery conditions could be made, without attributing it to walking or driving conditions.

The report said this information will help the public service to assess locations where snow removal exists and how current operations might be changed to meet the need.

Coun. Matt Allard initially put forward a motion in January of this year asking for a report on how the city can make sidewalks safer and less slippery for pedestrians. At the time, he said Winnipeggers had been asking for improvements to snow clearing services for years, and said the city has received thousands of complaints regarding icy sidewalks.

The city’s current snow clearing and ice control policy does not include completion timeframes for several operations, including sanding on sidewalks and pathways. According to the report, the public service will track how long it takes to complete sanding activities, and report back to the committee in the second quarter of 2022.

It will then use the data collected to recommend ways to improve completion timeframes, in hopes of enhancing overall walking conditions.

The report is also recommending the public service provide annual reports beginning in July 2022 on improvements for snow and ice control, and spring cleanup operations.

-With files from CTV’s Kayla Rosen.

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