Are the snow removal methods for the City of Weyburn geared to improve walkable areas for residents? This was a question posed by Claire and Ed Kuhn in a letter to the editor in the Sept. 29 publication of the Weyburn Review.
Are the snow removal methods for the City of Weyburn geared to improve walkable areas for residents? This was a question posed by Claire and Ed Kuhn in a letter to the editor in the Sept. 29 publication of the Weyburn Review.
"We truly wish we had the finances to do this, but it would cost an additional half-million each winter to clear every sidewalk and remove the snow from the streets," said Bob Smith, city manager for the City of Weyburn. He noted that of the 84 kilometres of sidewalk that exists in Weyburn, the city does clear 25 km of priority areas to give people access to the schools, hospital and the downtown shopping areas.
To complete snow removal of sidewalks during the winter would "require more manpower and equipment, which would only be used during the winter," added Smith.
The city has looked at alternatives for clearing snow off sidewalks during the winter time. "We have looked at contractors to perform the work, but would have to give them a guarantee to receive priority, as many in our area have commitments in the oil patch."
"It is also impossible to pile the snow on the curb," noted Smith, in reference to the suggestion noted by the Kuhns in their letter.
"We had run a trial project last year of piling the snow on the curb, and it in fact caused more traffic congestion and received several complaints so we had to revert back to our existing operations." Smith also noted that it was not a violation for the city to place ice, snow and debris onto the sidewalk during street cleaning. "The bylaw does restrict residents from piling snow debris onto the sidewalks and streets which has been removed from private property; removal of the snow from the streets and sidewalks are from public property."
Every snow year, the city is responsible for clearing close to 98.1 km of paved streets. To put this into perspective, Smith said, "It would be like clearing snow off Highways 39 and 6 to Regina. It takes a lot of time, finances and manpower to complete this You can imagine what the time and cost would be to remove snow from 84 km of sidewalk or load up the snow and truck it away on the highway from here to Regina."
To ensure that residents do have available trails for walking or exercise, the city also "does the best we can to keep 10 km of the Tatagwa Parkways clear of snow," noted Smith.
"I know everyone would like to see the streets and sidewalks clear all winter long as they have in the summer, but again we don't have the financial resources to do that," said Smith. "However we are proud of our works staff and the work they do, which is a lot better than other larger communities are doing with snow removal. Sometimes you have to go out and look at other communities to appreciate what you have here right at home."
