Poor sidewalk-clearing efforts by City of Winnipeg, say residents

A St. James resident believes the City of Winnipeg has forgotten to prioritize the clearing of sidewalks in residential areas.

It's been more than a week since Winnipeg received the latest in a winter full of significant snow dumps, yet the sidewalk outside Daniel Rempel's home hasn't been cleared.

"Seems like it's not a priority for them," he said Monday.

With piles of snow, some of which contain large chunks of ice from roadways due to previous snow clearing efforts that have been pushed on to sidewalks, Rempel and his wife have trouble taking their 11-month-old son for a walk in his stroller.

"It doesn't feel safe carrying him around on the sidewalks because they are very uneven," he said.

"We're in the midst of a lockdown and there's no real places to go. The easiest thing is to get outside. But if we're not able to get outside because the sidewalks aren't cleared, we're just stuck inside."

The Rempel family moved to the St. James area because their home is a close walking distance to work, coffee shops and grocery stores. Those are all things Rempel valued in moving to the neighbourhood, but the obstacles created by snow are impacting their lives.

"When we are unable to use the sidewalks, a huge selling point of this neighbourhood goes away and it makes life a lot more difficult," he said.

He believes it's important the city have a policy regarding sidewalks.

"I think if we care for our most vulnerable citizens first everyone will benefit," Rempel added.

Jeremy Shields also lives in St. James, and is displeased by the city's sidewalk-clearing efforts.

"The graders and heavy equipment push the road clearing onto the sidewalks, and it hardens into pure ice. When the city sends out sidewalk equipment, they can't clear it, and it stays this way all winter, unfortunately," Shields said in a social media direct message to CBC News.

He says he has contacted city Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James) several times, and while Gillingham has been helpful, Shields says the plows continue to repeat what he calls poor clearing. 

Following another dusting of snow Monday morning, Winnipeg has eclipsed the 50-centimetre mark for snow in February with 50.4 cm, according to CBC meteorologist John Sauder. That makes this February the fourth snowiest on record going back to 1873.