Be considerate and shovel your sidewalks
By Letter to the Editor on November 26, 2020.
Very few of us like shovelling sidewalks. For civic responsibility and financial reasons you shouldn’t wait for the next chinook. Seniors, moms with strollers, people in wheelchairs, joggers, dog walkers and students depend extensively on safe sidewalks.
A brief chat with the City’s Regulatory Services Department confirms it is the property owner who is responsible for making the effort. Waiting for the next chinook, despite the fact the City frequently does this with side streets, is not really an option.
The bottom line is that failure to keep sidewalks clear can result in fines and potential legal liability for injuries and other costs if someone slips and falls. Please be considerate.
Dale Leier
Lethbridge
-1
first, let me say i always get to the sidewalk early. however, it is ridiculous that this burden and responsibility has been tossed to the homeowner. why should the city look after its sidewalks? 1) because, like the roads, we pay for the service via our taxes, and should not be on the hook for liabilities should someone slip in front of our home; 2) a few good jobs would be available driving small tractors that clear ALL the sidewalks uniformly. as it stands, some people clear and others do not, and walking is typically unsafe; 3) given that our roads are left to chinooks – which seem to come with less frequency and effect of late – the roads are a walking hazard. so, while it may be safe to walk on the sidewalk where a resident has been decent enough to remove the snow, one inevitably has to return to the messy, icy road. even today there is a lot of ice on the roads at intersections on the less traveled streets. there is no way around those hazards.
solution: city cleans all sidewalks; city clears all roads when snowfall surpasses a certain point of accumulation. as it stands, along with the poor state of the rutted roads when clear, we look like a backwash. even cutting budget, the cost of safer road and sidewalk maintenance would not cost the taxpayer much more, and certainly would be less than the cost of a contractor factoring in the sidewalk.
Does the City ever fine anyone for not shovelling? I assume The City also hasn’t issued one ticket for non-mask wearers.
I’m fine giving everyone one or two warnings just so they know they’re being monitored. But strike 3 should definitely be a fine!