City unable to clear pile of garbage left on river bank due to seasonal conditions

Garbage bags, tarps, clothes and food containers are among the pile of items littering the river bank near Rover Avenue across from the Hydro Station. (source: Scott Andersson/ CTV News Winnipeg)

The city says it is unable to clear a pile of garbage left behind on the banks of the Red River by an encampment – at least for now.

Garbage bags, tarps, clothes and food containers are among the pile of items littering the river bank near Rover Avenue across from the Hydro Station. It is a mess that was left when an encampment of people who had been living in the area cleared out.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson said the city has received three service requests since January about the area, but has not been able to act on them.

"It can be very difficult to access riverside sites through the winter and spring due to unstable banks and an inability to take machinery and equipment down the slope," the city spokesperson said in an email to CTV News.

They said crews will clean the area as soon as conditions allow.

When it comes to cleaning up after encampments, the city said it works closely with Main Street Project and other community partners to make sure no inhabited encampments are removed unless they pose a safety risk.

"Our protocol is to only remove abandoned materials, and only once we have both confirmed they are in fact abandoned and have been able to access the site in question," the spokesperson said in an email.