Mild weather has created dangerous conditions on some city sidewalks – Winnipeg Free Press

Wendy Scharf saw pedestrians walking down the steps of her Central St. Boniface home Wednesday afternoon sliding and sliding over slick patches of ice and pools of water covering the northbound sidewalk.

It's a common sight, he said, and part of living in a residential area that is usually considered a low priority by city street cleaning crews.

“It's always like this. “I always do,” Scharf said, pointing to the brown, muddy pavement.

“It's very dangerous to be here at this time of year. I think it's especially problematic for the elderly and people with wheelchairs.”

“It's very dangerous to be here at this time of year. I think it's especially problematic for the elderly and people with wheelchairs.”– Wendy Scharf

Winnipeg is experiencing a unique weather pattern this winter that has contributed to the problem, with mild temperatures creating a freeze-thaw cycle that creates ice on roads and sidewalks, as well as in ditches and sewers.

As a result, slick reports have skyrocketed, with the city receiving 562 service requests for icy sidewalks and active roadways since Oct. 1. In the corresponding period of last year, such complaints reached only 121, according to city data.

Last year, when there was a lot of snow, the city received 1,622 requests for services related to the closure of sidewalks and active traffic routes. So far this year, only 402 complaints have been lodged, the data show.

In general, the demand for sidewalk maintenance has decreased by 44 percent this season, the city says.

Number. Janice Lux, who chairs the Public Works Committee, and Coun. Matt Allard, who has been an outspoken advocate for improved snow removal, traded barbs on the topic at a committee meeting last week.

Allard (St. Boniface) called for better sidewalk maintenance and said they should be plowed to the curb, while Lukes (Waverly West) insisted the city is doing everything it can to stay ahead of the dire conditions on major thoroughfares.

Up to four centimeters of snow and sub-zero temperatures were forecast for Winnipeg Thursday afternoon.

The City organizes its snow removal schedule in order of priority, with major thoroughfares and adjacent sidewalks as priority 1, non-regional bus routes and collector streets as priority 2, and then residential streets as priority 3.

P1 plots are typically plowed to bare pavement within 36 hours of snowfall and then salted.

Sidewalks along P1 and P2 streets will be plowed after five centimeters of snow and will retain a “compacted surface of snow” that must be cleared to bare pavement, except for the downtown sidewalk.

Sidewalks in residential areas are considered the lowest priority and are plowed into compacted snow only after all other sidewalks have been plowed.

Streets and Maintenance Manager Michael Cantor said the city's current sidewalk cleaning equipment is not capable of cleaning roads that lead to bare sidewalks due to uneven surfaces.

Clearing sidewalks this way could damage equipment or infrastructure — whichever comes first, he said.

City workers must use salt and chemicals to get to the bare pavement, but current bylaws limit the use of such materials to P1 streets to minimize the negative impact on the environment, he said.

Cantor said he expects colder temperatures to temporarily stop the thaw and allow workers to spread sand to improve the attraction. At present, the sand mixes with the melted ice and has little effect.

Allard noted that the city has tried unsuccessfully at least three times in recent years to pass various proposals approving a plow-to-pavement pilot project for P3 zones.

Investing in improved sidewalk clearing equipment would improve the quality of maintenance without draining city coffers, which often overspend snow plowing budgets for roads and underspend sidewalk clearing budgets.

Lukes balked at the idea, saying that while the equipment could clear the roads leading to the sidewalk, the resulting ice and snow would have to be hauled to one of the city's snow storage facilities at a prohibitive cost.

He noted that Winnipeg's approach to clearing sidewalks is unique given that some other municipalities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto and Vancouver, require homeowners to walk in front of their homes.

The topic has come up in recent years, but as snow removal regulations are currently written, the City of Winnipeg can fine residents who take it upon themselves to clear snow and ice on city property.

Allard said he opposes the idea of ​​requiring residents to clean sidewalks because such maintenance is expected revenue from taxpayer funds. However, he believes the existing law should be amended to protect residents from fines if they choose to do so.

Martin Pollock, a Winnipeg personal injury lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, said winning a lawsuit against the city's property is difficult but not impossible.

Municipalities are exempt from certain sections of the Liability Act, meaning they are not legally liable for injuries that occur on their property.

“Now that doesn't mean you can't sue them for negligence,” Pollock said. “The question is, how often did they inspect that stretch of pavement?” Did they know about it? Did someone call them five times?

“It all depends on the situation.”

Winnipeg Regional Health said it doesn't reliably track slip and fall injuries, but “hundreds of Manitobans are injured from slipping on snow and ice, often in and around parking lots and on sidewalks, especially when temperatures fluctuate.” freezing temperature”.

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