A group of residents is asking the city to step up its sand-sweeping efforts on roads and sidewalks.
In a letter to city council, Frank Allinson, Sheila Davis, Will Davis and Tony Gulmen shared their concerns with the way spring street and sidewalk clearing takes place.
“First, we hope to convince you to introduce the cleanup of sand from Orillia’s residential sidewalks each spring,” they wrote. “Secondly, we hope that a way can be found to speed up the cleaning of our streets each spring.”
The city is asking residents to provide ideas for how to make Orillia a more age-friendly community, they noted.
“The issue we are presenting would surely fall within the bounds of an ‘age-friendly community.’”
It isn’t the first time the matter has been brought to the attention of local politicians.
“This issue has been raised with a previous council but to no avail, ignoring the health and safety risks to its citizens,” the residents wrote, adding the sand left over from winter maintenance has taken its toll. “Our group is aware of at least two falls and several near falls this past spring that can be directly attributed to the slippery sidewalk and road sand. One woman fell and suffered a small fracture of the femur very near her artificial hip when the front wheel of her bicycle slipped on sand. She spent two days at OSMH, and three months later is only now recovered enough to ride her bicycle again.”
Many people are walking and cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic, they noted, including seniors.
“In Orillia, with its strong contingent (and growing) of seniors, for whom walking is a major and sometimes sole form of exercise, having sidewalks clear of slippery sand is most important in our view,” they wrote. “This is a health and safety issue that the City of Orillia can address.”
As a result of the letter, council directed staff to prepare a report on potential ways to address the residents’ concerns.
Coun. Tim Lauer took it a step further, asking that the report “incorporate options for consideration of removal of sand on roads and sidewalks in areas where there are many hills impacting stormwater runoff.”
“Every year, we deal with winter and we sand all the hills … and then in the spring, all that sand washes down into the lake,” he said, noting he has heard concerns about the effect on the Tafton canal and Lake Couchiching at the bottom of Fittons Road.
“It is a significant issue, the sand going into the lake.”
Coun. Pat Hehn has also been contacted about the problem. She said the city has two machines to clean streets in the spring, but one of them broke down and, because of the pandemic, it took longer than usual for parts to arrive.
“It’s just been a very unusual year and, hopefully, it won’t happen again,” she said.
Staff will report back to council a later date.
