OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following is a letter to the editor and an open letter to the City of Orillia.
I am once again writing regarding a matter of concern that I am sure you will agree needs to be resolved.
Included is a photo taken this morning at 5:36 a.m. on my walk to my place of employment.
It was clear last evening on my walk home and as you can see is virtually impassable due to debris created by the road plow dislodging the accumulated snow along the curb.
Since there is no apparent co-ordinated snow-clearing plan in place between the road and sidewalk crews to accommodate taxpaying pedestrians such as myself, I am suggesting one be implemented forthwith.
How can anyone reasonably expect a pedestrian to traverse a mess such as this?
How can Orillia ever be seriously considered for inclusion as a smart (15-minute) municipality as other progressive communities across Canada currently are working toward when something as rudimentary as snow clearing of sidewalks can’t be maintained?
Things like this make me embarrassed to say I live here.
As in the past I was forced to walk along the roadway and endeavour not to be struck by passing motorists. I am hereby placing the Corporation of the City of Orillia on notice that any injury resulting from such courses of action due to sidewalks not being cleared of debris arguably caused by said corporation will be met with legal action and all photos and past and present correspondence pertaining to this issue will be included as evidence of neglect to maintain under the Municipal Act.
There is no boulevard along this section of roadway, so the repeated back and forth of road plows and sidewalk plows pushing the same snow into one another’s paths is quite possibly the most obtuse approach to snow “removal” I have encountered in my 54 years on God’s green earth.
It is high time a crew remove the snow bank and in the future a sidewalk plow be dispatched to clean up debris created by road plows along this and other sections of sidewalk impacted and subsequently obstructing pedestrian traffic in a timely fashion and not 24 or more hours later.
I expect this to be rectified by the time I pass this location at day’s end as walking on the roadway at that hour of the day is not an option and most certainly will result in a personal-injury motor-vehicle collision and a lawsuit against the city and all persons in their employ who have been made aware and have a responsibility to take action.
Please notify me when my request has been received and the required action taken.
Charles Ostrom
Orillia
