Reclaim the Sidewalks
You know, I’ve tried calling 311 so many times the operators know my voice, but that hasn’t worked. I’ve got a convenience store a block and a half from my home that not only doesn’t shovel their sidewalks, but plows the snow from the parking lot on top of them. I’ve had it! I saw a woman in a wheel chair rolling down the middle of Ottawa Street because she couldn’t navigate their sidewalk. I’m going to march right up to the Daisy Mart at Ottawa and Windermere and take a picture to show everyone.
Hey! There’s an idea. In this day and age, when everyone has a camera on them at all times (your cell phone) why can’t we take photo evidence of these people, be they residents or business operators, who violate City of Windsor by-law 8544 and show the world that they are not very good citizens?
This picture? This sidewalk is the responsibility of the public school board! (King Edward Public School) Kids have to try and navigate this without falling into traffic.
So how’s this sound? Both Andrew ([email protected]) at International Metropolis and myself ([email protected]) will start collecting these photos (be sure to include where they were taken) from you interpid citizen photographers and publishing them on our respective websites! The couple of thousand people who read our blogs every day may just have a say in whether these folks will start complying with the laws of this city.
Maybe we can even give our by-law enforcement officers a hand in identifying the culprits, because this one was obviously too busy to stop and do anything about this pile on the sidewalk by that same school..
So folks, it’s time for us to reclaim this city. It’s obviousy other’s aren’t doing their jobs so it’s up to us to hold their feet to the fire. SEND IN THOSE PHOTOS!
Tags: pedestrian, safety, school board, sidewalk shame, walkable
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Hi everyone, I was just going to call Chris regarding this very topic. I have a handful of pictures from Dougall ave. where they also like to plow snow from the parking lots onto the sidewalk, one of the worst offenders is the Harvey’s on Dougall, there’s three feet of snow on the walk there. I’ll send pics to Chris later so they can be posted. I did call 311 as well and gave them 5 addresses in that tight area, I could have given them 55 along the entire stretch I’m certain. One of the sadder points is that our local credit union hasn’t cleared the snow yet, good thing I’m a member there, that makes me so proud! We all need to voice our concerns to our councillors and through any medium possible whether it be this site or the Windsor Star, enough is enough already, how long are we going to forced to the back of the bus!
I’d also like to mention that when you do call 311 you have to give addresses because it’s not good enough to say there’s 50 businesses along Dougall that aren’t clearing their walks and expect that the city enforcement officers would actually do their job!
i’m sick of hiram walker doing this too but for the bike lanes. they keep plowing the snow off the sidewalks onto the bike lanes, which forces me to ride in traffic.
Send in a pic, Darren! I know you have a camera or two hanging around
i’m going to need a new memory card. in a short 20 minute walk to and from work i can easily count dozens of spots where the snow hasn’t been cleared at all or is a hazard. i’ve called the school board about the lack of shoveling at the school in our neighborhood that my kids attend out of sheer frustration and disbelief. i’m going to start calling from my cell phone as i’m walking.
Oh my god, I just got back from Long&Mcquade on walker rd, and walking down from tecumseh was BRUTAL!!!! All those businesses, they plow the driveway and parking lot and push it all onto the sidewalk. Ridiculous.
Wish I had my camera!!
As a local business manager on Tecumseh road, I think I need to defend some of my fellow business owners.
We try to keep our sidewalks clear. The problem is the city of Windsor puts the snow from the roan onto the sidewalks. This snow is impossible to remove with a shovel with out hurting your back…and I am not going to out the heath and safety of my employees in danger to clean up after the city. I have had quotes to remove it and it costs close to $200.00. That’s a days sales for me some times…I would just be in business in the winter just to pay to have the snow taken off my sidewalk….We try our best, it is impossible to keep up.
As for Dougall ave…There is a section of homes between the Harvey’s you speak of and Norfolk that also are in the same boat as me, the snow on the sidewalk is again from the city, and I have watched them try to remove the snow with shovels, and again it is impossible to do, with out injuring yourself.
Mark, I agree with you. It is here that we must separate this issue into A/are the sidewalks being cleared, and B who’s responsibility is it to do so?
I have noticed that the majority of incidents I come across of snow being piled onto the sidewalks, impeding pedestrian movement, it is from the snow plows. I agree with you that this could be undue hardship on anyone to remove, as this snow is usually mixed in with road grime and salt, creating an impenetrable mess. Regardless, it is an absolute necessity that the sidewalks be cleared. Mobility rights are enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedom.
So, it comes down to who is responsible for removing this snow. I would argue that it is the city’s responsibility. The city is responsible for clearing auto-based transportation infrastructure of snow, so why should it be any different for pedestrians and cyclists? Both are municipaly supplied and owned, yet the burden of maintenance for sidewalks is assumed by the abutting property owner. Are there any other municipally owed chattel that rely on abutting landowners to maintain? Why do you think there is such a battle in the suburbs over installation of sidewalks? They don’t want to maintain them!
This must change for an equitable transpotation network to emerge.
First things first, though. Pedestrians need a safe place to walk, and that’s not in the middle of the road with the cars. Which is why we must draw attention to this issue any way we have available to us.
Mark, wouldn’t it stand to reason that if the sidewalks in front of your business are covered in snow, etc. that it would deter customers from visiting — even those who arrive in the area via motorized transit? A clear path along a commercial route will invite people to come into the area and move about freely.
Here’s an idea — instead of hiring someone to clear the snow from one business, band together with other area businesses to clear all the area. The cost per business will be significantly lower as cost of transporting machinery will be significantly lower for the snow removal operator.
We clear what we can so people can get in. The entire side walk is not done, but a small path is made as far as we can push it. We do not clear down to the road at the curb cut, as we have had to many close calls in past years of staff being very close to being hit by cars. We cleared our sidewalks on Saturday, only to come in on Sunday and find them covered with all the snow from the road.
I understand your plight Mark, but the biggest issue here seems to be businesses like Harvey’s that actually have the snow from their parking lots plowed into giant piles in front of or on the sidewalks. If they can afford to have the parking lots plowed, they can afford to have the sidewalks done, it just enforces the fact that those that do not drive are discriminated against in this city. As for the sidewalks on Tecumseh road, I believe at least a path can be cleared for people to get through, you’re complaining about the hard to shovel snow and yes the city is to blame but what about the poor guy who has to get around in a wheelchair or the elderly lady who has to navigate these treacherous walkways. My mother in law lives on Bruce ave. where sidewalks are right next to the roads as well and I always manage to keep it clean even though the freaking plows come down there constantly as well. I keep it clean for those that have trouble getting around our fair city because I can’t imagine putting them through undo hardship. I hardly think they would shed a tear for us healthy individuals who might have to shovel some snow, that’s just my reasoning though.
Chris — I can think of one area that is the responsibility of homeowners — that strip of grass between the sidewalk and the sidewalk. Sure, new subdivisions don’t have to worry about things such as sidewalks and grass, but old neighbourhoods have to tend to the greenery on this area of city owned land.
Hmm, gets me thinking — I wonder if you could plant a vegetable garden out there? It’d be a mighty tasty way to “take care of” that stretch of grass
A class action suit by all who need to use sidewalks would definitely get their attention, especially if it comes under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a successful application could set a precedent for all of Canada.
I’m tired of complaining and it seems that shaming doesn’t work either
Let’s do it!
I understand the issue with businesses but I also watch while their plows push snow back into the road or into a section of a parking lot that pedestrians use. Yes, snow plows on the road do push the snow back onto property but I have to spend an hour clearing my sidewalk and end of my driveway because of this so why shouldn’t businesses? There are very inexpensive snow blowers available now and an investment like that would save businesses time and money. As others have stated, we aren’t looking for an 8 foot wide path, just something we can walk through without tripping would be nice. I’ve seen business owners outside with brooms trying to clear the snow…that’s not even attempting to make a difference! Last night was also a joy trying to park on the street downtown and then scaling a snow drift to get to the cyclist. What if you aren’t that mobile?
This issue must fall under the charter of rights and freedoms as under the charter citizens with disabilities cannot be discriminated against. So if you have a physical or mental disability which prevents you from driving a car, you are obviously mistreated in our city. Those that already have it easiest are catered to the most and those that struggle to get around are ignored or are forced to endure even more difficult conditions through the actions of others in this city. I cannot think of a more sad state of affairs than one where healthy citizens literally dump on those who aren’t so as to make their lives even easier. There should definitely be a class action lawsuit of some type, is there a lawyer out there willing to take up the cause!
Folks, what about those snow plow drivers from local contractors that jump the curb and half-ass plow the sidewalk for their customer? Not only they not reallly clear much snow but they damage the curbs and sidewalks.
The other issue I have is the city snow plows. Why do they angle the blad so much in order to dump plowed snow onto your freshly shovelled walk-way? As Mark mentioned above it will kill your back (mine has been out since Sunday). If they changed the degree of the blade by 5-7% they would leave a small line of snow in the middle of the road to wich they could get on their subsequent passes later. It wouldn’t even affect small vehicles yet would do wonders for people getting stuck at the foot of their driveways or having to re-shovel a previously clean sidewalk.
When I lived in Ottawa, the City of Ottawa used to plow all city sidewalks in the core area with mini sidewalk ploughs.
Perhaps Windsor could plow sidewalks in commerical areas? Granted, Windsor doesn’t too often get heaps of snow, but we should be prepared to deal with it effectively.
I have to agree with Mark in that I’ve watched the city or its contractors pile the snow on wheel chair accessible sidewalks.
Absolutely go after those individuals and businesses who can’t seem to shovel their sidewalks - and there are quite a few, but insofaras the the ploughs coming along; or parking lot ploughs, that crap is heavy - even for me.
Now I”m able bodied enough to go out and shovel it out myself, however, my neighbours are 60+ years old, and have a hard enough time shovelling their own walkways.
Something we ought to consider given the changing demographics in the years to come.
Also considering a Neighbourhood Guardian program in residential areas.
With the aging population, etc. this issue will only because more troublesome.
Groups of able bodied residents volunteer their time to clear away sections. Realising not every city can be Ottawa, perhaps this could be a transition to municipal funding of sidewalk cleaning.
Perhaps councillors could ask administration to determine the costs of implementing a sidewalk ploughing program when snow exceeds 5 cm or so.
On a good note, this morning on my way to the U I saw a bobcat plowing out the bus stops on Wyandotte.