Independent contractors hired by the city of Halifax to clear snow-covered sidewalks are leaving several walkways packed with ice due to their clearing methods, a councillor has said. The icy walkway problem has become such that some residents are afraid to walk over them.
“On one street you could get bare concrete, on another you could get three inches of snow or compacted snow which turns into ice,” Coun. Shawn Cleary told
CBC News, noting that his constituents in Halifax West Armdale are complaining that the sidewalks are not being thoroughly cleared.
Cleary also noted that some homeowners have complained that their properties have been damaged by the snow-removal equipment. He also suggests that part of the problem is the equipment being used to remove the snow.
“The Bobcat in particular, the shovel is too wide for most of our sidewalks, especially in the old part of Halifax where you have people’s houses with very little setback to the sidewalk,” Cleary explained. “So they will come along and rip up sod, they’ll rip up the railway ties, they knock over concrete steps. I think last year there was over $200,000 in damage just in the peninsula alone that had to be remediated after the Bobcats went by people’s fences, sidewalks and so on.”
Cleary recommended that the city should consider purchasing its own equipment and offering the snow removal service instead of turning to contractors.
He has since brought forward a motion at council to assess the snow clearing process. A report on the topic is expected this April.
Several homeowners have requested that the contractors stop clearing snow along their properties,
CBC News reported. One even posted a sign outside her property, telling crews to skip her home.
Municipal spokeswoman Tiffany Chase told
CBC News that it is not possible for residents to have their sidewalks taken off the municipal clearing service.
“We do what we can as much as possible to work with citizens,” Chase said.
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