After 28 years, a damaged curb in Winnipeg has now been fixed
A Winnipeg man finally has something he has been waiting for over 28 years … a new curb.
Calvin Hawley lives along Tyrone Bay and back in January 1993, Hawley's curb was damaged by a snowplow during snow removal in the St. Vital neighbourhood. The curb was only repaired last week.
"I remember the exact date, Jan. 26, 1993, and I discovered it at between five and six in the morning and I remember this clearly because that's the day, in the morning, that one of our sons was born," said Hawley.
He said he saw that the street had been cleared of snow and he noticed he would have to shovel some of it because it was blocking his driveway.
"That's when I discovered that a chunk was missing from our curb because as I'm shoveling I hit something that wasn't just snow and ice."
Hawley said he reported the damage a week later and was told crews would come along in the spring and fix it.
Winter turned into spring, spring into summer, and then fall came, and still nothing had been fixed. Hawley again phoned the city about the problem and he was once again told crews would soon come to fix the issue.
"For a while, it was every few months that I would try and check in and then it became a couple of years in between."
He said the calls turned from saying that crews would come to fix the curb to being told it would be fixed as part of a two- or seven-year plan. He was then told the city never received a report.
"After a while you just kind of get tired of chasing the tail," said Hawley.
"What really kind of set this off again was on the morning of Canada Day 2017, beautiful morning, my wife and I are sitting outside having a cup of coffee in the morning and this noise starts up in the bay."
The pair looked at what was happening up the road only to see city crews were repairing a curb that Hawley said had not been damaged as long as his was.
"That kind of just ticked me."
He called the city the next day, reported the problem again and he was given a tracking number for when the problem would be fixed.
"Lo-and-behold, the target resolution date on my case was June 26, 2037. Twenty years in the future."
Hawley said he eventually contacted his councillor Brian Mayes and the pair had been working on getting the curb fixed for the past few years.
"So a couple of weeks ago, they showed up, we all on the bay went, 'Wow, I can't believe they're here, but fantastic that they are.'"
Hawley said he is extremely happy and thankful that the curb had been fixed, noting the repair job looked good.
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the city said it tries to inspect and repair damaged curbs as soon as possible if they are deemed hazardous. Currently, 1,242 requests have been opened or are in the process of being fixed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.