Recent snowfalls show the need for proper removal
By Letter to the Editor on December 17, 2021.
Editor:
These last two snowfalls in Lethbridge were perfect of examples of why snow needs to be removed from sidewalks and pathways.
In a climate such as ours, it often snows and then melts, and then snows and melts again. Repeat.
Unfortunantely, the melt is often not complete between snowfalls and the snow that wasn’t removed turns to ice.
This is very dangerous to pedestrians, specifically those with mobility issues or aging bones.
I don’t know the statistics but I’ll wager there are more slip and fall injuries in Lethbridge than almost anywhere else in the country per capita.
Please do not hope the snow will melt. Remove it yourself or hire someone to do it.
If your neighbour is elderly or injured, help them out.
There is a municipal bylaw that requires homes and businesses remove snow and ice within 24 hours of the snowfall but common sense and courtesy is all we really need.
Don’t rely on the City of Lethbridge to enforce the bylaw since they rarely complete the sidewalks and pathways they are responsible for.
Perhaps they could set a better example. To those who do remove snow and ice, thank you!
To those who do not, you should be ashamed of yourselves. We can do better.
Jason Seufert
Lethbridge
-1
“Safety First” Jason!
the writer discusses an important issue. there is always a lot of sidewalk space that remains messy. this has always been the case, and there is nothing afoot so to speak that will alter this fact.
given the high rate of property tax we pay, it is frustrating that property owners are responsible for clearing what is in fact city property. there are many communities that have streets and sidewalks cleared by the city to which they pay their property taxes. if we did as much (i know, we might not have great spaces like the casa, or paradise canyon might not $750k to host a series of useless, elitist golf tourneys), we would have all sidewalks cleared every time it snows. moreover, we would have all streets cleared every time it snows. not sure about others, but i do not have a magic carpet that flies me across unkempt streets between inconsistently kept sidewalks. as we can see right now, most of our streets are sheets of ice, only because they were not cleared, and, after being packed by traffic and a slight melt, we have dangerous conditions throughout the city. i wonder whether most injuries related to winter falls take place on city streets moreso that on sidewalks, especially when stepping of a sidewalk onto an icy road.