Mayor orders review of Toronto's 'unacceptable' snow clearing after back-to-back storms
CBC
Mayor Olivia Chow says she's ordered a review of Toronto's snow clearing and removal operations, calling the state of the city's roads and sidewalks "unacceptable" more than a week after after the GTA was hit by two winter storms.
Chow said she's particularly frustrated with how much snow still remains on many of the city's sidewalks after she was "repeatedly told" by city officials that they had been completely cleared.
"It is obvious that the sidewalk is not 100 per cent plowed. I don't know what percentage is, but claiming that 100 per cent is plowed is blatantly untrue."
Chow said she sent a letter Tuesday to City Manager Paul Johnson and Toronto's auditor general, asking them to immediately review options to improve snow plowing and removal policies and practices.
The review will include looking at how to optimize the city's existing resources and equipment, and its contracts for winter maintenance work, which could lead to renegotiating or breaking those contracts, Chow said.
"This is just unacceptable. We need to do more. We need to do better," she said.
"All Torontonians deserve to move around the city safely."
Chow said the issue will be discussed by her executive committee at their next meeting.
The Toronto Transit Commission was also asked to look at its response to extreme weather events at a TTC board meeting Monday.
The motion from TTC Chair Coun. Jamaal Myers and Coun. Josh Matlow asked TTC staff to look into some of the issues that have plagued the transit system since storms rolled into the city earlier this month, including large banks of snow piling up around transit stops, issues with the above-grade portions of Line 1 and 2, and parked cars blocking streetcars.
In an update on Monday, the City of Toronto said that more than 100,000 tonnes of snow have been removed from the city so far, with clearing prioritized for main streets with transit routes, areas with hospitals, sidewalks and school bus loading zones.
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