‘That’s not plowing for pedestrians,’ Calgarians frustrated at city’s snow clearing plan
Posted Feb 23, 2023 7:56 pm.
Last Updated Feb 24, 2023 6:08 am.
The City of Calgary’s snow-clearing plan is getting some criticism from Calgarians who say the city doesn’t do a good enough job prioritizing accessibility after the snow has fallen.
“It’s hard to plant a cane or it’s hard to use a wheelchair on slippery surfaces,” said Lexa Cutler who gets around with the assistance of a cane.
“When you have a cane, it slips. So, a little bit of snow, if it’s there, and it’s not properly maintained, or if there’s not salt put out all the time, then you’re slipping and sliding. If your cane hits a patch, then down you go too.”
Cutler had to miss work Wednesday because she wasn’t able to access her bus stop.
“Getting over that to get onto a bus or cross a street, I’ve fallen doing that. Because you’re trying to trudge through this barrier that’s been put up,” she said.
Cutler adds, with her cane, she essentially has to pole vault over snow packs to get through intersections.
What happens to the snow after it’s packed up, also impacts how people get around.
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“If people have to climb a two-foot barrier of snow to get from the sidewalk to the street, that’s not plowing for pedestrians,” said Doug Dunlop, who was injured from a fall following a large snowfall.
In late 2022, both Dunlop and his son were injured, on different occasions, trying to get around the aftermath of the snow piles.
“Every intersection kinda had this moat of ice around it, and he slipped on one of those moats of ice, and dislocated his kneecap and tore some ligaments in his knee,” Dunlop said.
The city says it can clear about 20 per cent of transit stops within 24 hours of the snowfall ending — that clock starting Thursday at noon — almost four days after it started to snow.
Snow started falling Sunday evening.
However, both Cutler and Dunlop say the city needs to take another look at its snow-clearing plan and recognize it isn’t accessible for all Calgarians, especially those who don’t drive.
