Last week, the OrilliaMatters editorial called on the City of Orillia to reconsider its winter control policy, specifically the protocol that determines when sidewalks are plowed.
That appeal followed a flurry of complaints that erupted following successive snow storms. After a story about the current policies, our readers spoke. Of the more than 450 people who cast their vote in our poll, 325 people said the city’s snow-clearing efforts were “terrible” and/or the city’s winter control policies need to be revisited. Approximately 72 per cent of those who responded were dissatisfied.
It became a perfect storm of sorts when the heartbreaking story of a three-year-old who ended up in a full body cast after a bad fall on an ice-covered city sidewalk was circulated on social media channels.
Coun. Tim Lauer agrees it’s time to revisit the policies. On Monday night, he asked city staff to review sidewalk plowing policies and develop recommendations for service level options. The request is not a “result of anything that happened last week,” he noted.
“I’ve been getting some fairly regular concerns expressed by people who (are) troubled with the fact their sidewalks haven’t been plowed in a timely way,” Lauer said. He added “We’ve invested a lot of money in our transit system and adopted all kinds of active transportation policies; it only makes sense that we keep our sidewalks as usable as we possibly can.”
He noted the current policy calls on side streets to be plowed within 48 hours of an accumulation of eight centimetres of snow. “Of course, most of us live on side streets,” he noted. “I’m not criticizing the service we provide, I’m saying maybe it’s time … given the fact we invent a new street out in West Ridge monthly. It seems there could possibly be a bigger demand and more stress put on the equipment and crew we have. I think for the sake of the people that do wonder about our snow policies, I think this would be a good exercise and I think a report is in order.”
If city council green-lights his call for a report on Monday night, staff will develop a report to be presented at a future meeting of council.
