Walking in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

My interpretation is that if there's a good chance you'll get one or more $300 fines each winter, a flat $50 increase in property tax to pay for citywide snow clearing will become highly palatable. I agree however that if bylaw enforcement becomes too diligent (or too petty in the case of clearing down to bare pavement) then political backlash against the city may trump any chance of implementing citywide clearing.

Ah, thank you - that makes sense! I knew I was missing something.

[ookpik]

And that is why there is bylaw enforcement and standards of snow clearance.  The logistics of clearing the kilometres of sidewalk in the area, with machinery and manpower, in a timely manner seems daunting to say the least.

I lived in North York for over two decades. They cleared sidewalks efficiently and in a timely manner throughout that period even as other parts of Metro, including Toronto proper, did not. They continued to do so even after amalgamation much to the envy of residents of the other boroughs.

Well, sure. But governments actually do amazing things.

North York mayor Mel Lastman held the world record for buffoonery-while-in-office until Rob Ford wrested it from him. Nevertheless he's probably best remembered by residents for innovating snow removal. A constant complaint was that city snowplows would leave large windrows of hard-packed snow across their driveways. This snow would freeze and become very difficult to remove with a snow shovel or residential snow blower. For years city engineers told him there was nothing that could be done about this--until he suggested they add a secondary scooper to city snowplows that would drop down at driveways and clear out the windrow just as the main plow created them. Those plows were instrumental in getting him re-elected several times. 

If there's a will there's a way.

[panamaniac]

Kitchener used to have those "drop down at the driveways" snowplows many years ago but they were not a success.

[Canard]

Why not? I'm sure every single resident who has ever had to dig out the massive snowbank that ploughs end up transfering into the end of our driveways would be interested in having a solution for that!

I just shove it back on the road/downstream so the plough picks it up the next time. If they don't get the message that it's not working, they'll never fix it.

[BuildingScout]

Less daunting than by-law enforcement (that operates on a complaint basis, with a woefully inadequate standard) somehow resulting in the timely clearing of sidewalks.

Just because you cannot imagine it, it doesn't mean others can't. And they have. Many cities successfully snowplow sidewalks at a fraction of the cost of homeowners doing it.

[panamaniac]

Why not?  I'm sure every single resident who has ever had to dig out the massive snowbank that ploughs end up transfering into the end of our driveways would be interested in having a solution for that!

I just shove it back on the road/downstream so the plough picks it up the next time.  If they don't get the message that it's not working, they'll never fix it.

If I recall correctly, it would have been back in the 70's and the drop down barrier was subject to mechanical problems.  My memory of this iis hazy, however.

[creative]

Unfortunately it is idiots like you that think that it is perfectly fine to shovel snow back onto the road creating an extremely dangerous driving condition where an otherwise clear road suddenly becomes clogged by snow. Please refrain from doing so in the future.

[MidTowner]

I'm not sure how productive it is to call people 'idiots.' Strictly-speaking, it is against the law to push snow on to the street, for obvious reasons. I bet that this quantity of snow is incapable of clogging a street, though.

Streets in Waterloo Region do not suffer from extremely dangerous conditions for long after a snowfall. That's not the case for sidewalks: some of them remain in a bona fide dangerous state for nearly the whole winter season.

[ookpik]

If I recall correctly, it would have been back in the 70's and the drop down barrier was subject to mechanical problems.  My memory of this iis hazy, however.

I don't recall any mechanical problems with the North York implementation. However it relied on careful operation by the plow driver to lower the scoop when they began to pass a driveway and to raise it when on the other side. That required some care and dexterity so as not to hit the scoop on the concrete curbs. I watched them doing it on several occasions on my street. Usually they impressed me with their skill. Occasionally they'd hit the curb and even chip off a piece of concrete.

[ookpik]

it is perfectly fine to shovel snow back onto the road creating an extremely dangerous driving condition where an otherwise clear road suddenly becomes clogged by snow. 

What do you propose then? When I lived in a house and the city blocked me in I'd try to shovel the snow on either side of the driveway as best I could. But as winter wore on that became increasingly difficult as the existing snow bank got higher and higher. And when a snow plow comes by and blocks your driveway shortly after you've cleared it, it becomes awfully difficult to resist "flipping the bird" at the city by shovelling the stuff back where it came from.

Keep in mind too that these windrows are composed of hard-packed snow. Often they're heavy and require a metal shovel rather than a plastic snow pusher. I recall more than once when we were away for the weekend and the windrow had frozen solid. I needed to spend an hour using a pick axe (something every home owner has, eh?) to break up the ice in order to get into my own driveway.

While I don't condone pushing snow back onto the street, I can certainly understand the frustration that drives some people to do it.

[Canard]

What do you propose then? When I lived in a house and the city blocked me in I'd try to shovel the snow on either side of the driveway as best I could. But as winter wore on that became increasingly difficult as the existing snow bank got higher and higher.

Eeeeeexactly. I shovel it as high as I can - but the snowbanks are now taller than I am on my street, so what option do I have, other than to build a new mountain that is bulging out onto the street? There is physically no where else for it to go.

Last year, two or three times a giant snowblower auger attached to a huge truck came along and chewed down this mountain ridge right to the curb. It was awesome, and totally necessary... haven't seen that equipment come by yet this year.

[schooner77]

Montreal regularly removes snowbanks by the street, and they do it rather efficiently and quickly. But then they see a lot more snow than we do.

[LakesidePark]

What do you propose then? When I lived in a house and the city blocked me in I'd try to shovel the snow on either side of the driveway as best I could. But as winter wore on that became increasingly difficult as the existing snow bank got higher and higher.

Eeeeeexactly.  I shovel it as high as I can - but the snowbanks are now taller than I am on my street, so what option do I have, other than to build a new mountain that is bulging out onto the street?  There is physically no where else for it to go.

Last year, two or three times a giant snowblower auger attached to a huge truck came along and chewed down this mountain ridge right to the curb.  It was awesome, and totally necessary... haven't seen that equipment come by yet this year.

The auger is making its rounds, they have passed on Queens Blvd & Westmount in the last week.

[plam]

Montreal regularly removes snowbanks by the street, and they do it rather efficiently and quickly.  But then they see a lot more snow than we do.

Except in the Plateau, where the borough mayor is playing a game of chicken with the central mayor about the funding strategy. But yes, they have essentially a huge snowblower that puts the snow into a line of waiting trucks, which take the snow away to a melting lot.

Having said that, there is still a small snowbank on my parents' street. Usually that eventually goes away, but it hasn't yet this year.

[nms]

The auger is making its rounds, they have passed on Queens Blvd & Westmount in the last week.

A few weeks ago, Kitchener did the same thing to most of the banks along the streets around Victoria Park.