Friday, January 23, 2009

Snow, Sidewalks & Goat Tracks

Walking around Peace River is a standard feature of my days because when I was elected to Council, I decided to walk to meetings whenever possible. So for two winters now, I've tromped through the snow and have become a lot more aware of which homes and businesses keep their sidewalks shovelled and which don't.

There is a house on my regular walking route that has been sale for two winters now and the sidewalks not cleaned. This results in what someone has called a "goat track," a narrow path that makes walking very challenging. If this was a side street where there is little pedestrian traffic, it would be less of an issue, but this is a major pedestrian route.

There is a large, empty building downtown where the owner has not made snow removal arrangements. A large store on 101st Street removes snow from one side, but not the other. More goat tracks.

It seems like time to look at a snow removal bylaw (it's surprising to me that the Town doesn't already have one). As the Complete Streets workshop I attended this winter reminded us, if people can't comfortably walk around town, it's going to be very difficult to get them out of their vehicles, whether for fitness or to reduce our carbon footprint.

A bylaw would need to be reasonable and manageable for residents and businesses (as well as for the Town itself). But with a bylaw, the Town could do more than just try to educate. Warnings could be issued to those who aren't clearing in a timely way and if the warning wasn't enough, then the Town could arrange for clearing and bill the owner. And we walkers would find winter life so much easier!

2 comments:

Bill Given said...

Hey Leslie, good to see you back!

We have this problem in GP too but we also have a bylaw. I'll see if I can find it this morning and maybe do a post on it.

BTW; I found a copy of the GPRC history book at Value Village the other day (it's a great read) ... wasn't I surprised when the name of a certain Peace River Councillor popped up - you're famous!

Leslie said...

How funny that you'd find that history of the College and actually READ it! (Value Village? Ah, fame--it's so fleeting, eh? : )

The book actually IS an interesting read. It's inspiring to see and learn from the leadership and vision that people in GP had back in the day (and continue to have).

Being the first student member on the College's board was a life-altering experience(as well as rather intimidating!) and probably confirmed a path of public service that I'd been on since elementary school.

Drs. Harry Quinn (Chair) and Henry Anderson (the Dean) were helped me feel comfortable and that my presence was welcome rather than just a requirement (the Alberta government was trying to head off 1960s-style student protests, I think, and realized there was some wisdom in letting students have a voice).