Calgary sidewalks at risk from snow removal, company says frustrated by lack of awareness – Calgary

Early morning snow clearing creates conflicts on Calgary sidewalks, says Nicholas Stainsby, owner of Wipe Clean Window Clearing.

“When a neighbor or someone else comes out and tries to pick a fight with a member of our team or say something not so nice to them, it's difficult for me, especially when I'm trying to provide a safe workplace. , and my guys don't feel safe when they're out in the morning.”

Stainsby says the situation is getting worse, not better. He said the latest incident happened a week ago after a Sunday snowstorm when crews left early and neighbors objected to the noise.

“We start our journey at 5 in the morning when it snows. Everyone wants us to get out as early as possible to make sure their properties are available,” he explained.

“We've had people come out and threaten us saying, 'If you come back here, if I see you, it's over.' Our neighbor threatened to come out and steal our truck.”

The City of Calgary has a bylaw that provides a 48-hour noise exemption after the snow stops to ensure safety and accessibility on sidewalks. It specifically mentions that the leaf and snow blowers used by Stainsby's 15 employees were allowed to operate within 48 hours to clear snow and ice.

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But he says even the city is confused.

“We talked to the city before. We received complaints from the city. But we talked to the city and they said, “Oh, we shouldn't have sent you that legal notice because you worked on 48 hours notice.”

The City of Calgary could not immediately respond to questions about the law on Monday.

Stainsby says he's going public because he wants more awareness and less hostility before someone makes a senseless threat.

“We don't want anyone to get hurt because they're going to wipe Mrs. Smith's stomach.”

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