[Airboy]

I was down on the east side yesterday. 98 and and 50st were not plowed but the buss routes in that rea were. I figured 98ave was a priority route. Also 156st today from St Albert trail to 118ave was just getting plows this morning

 

[johnnyboy]

I was down on the east side yesterday. 98 and and 50st were not plowed but the buss routes in that rea were. I figured 98ave was a priority route. Also 156st today from St Albert trail to 118ave was just getting plows this morning

50 St being plowed as we speak. What's odd is that the bus routes in Ottewell and Kenilworth were plowed yesterday before 50 St, 118 Ave, 90 and 98 Ave. 98 Ave was particularly bad yesterday.

 

[Airboy]

Yah priority, I would think the major commuter roads would get done first.
I have noticed St Albert runs the speed plows out first and keeps the roads open. Then the graders come out to clean them down to the pavement. But one difference this snow fall. they have plowed the bus route and put it in windrows right away instead of the usual off to the sides. So maybe everyone is changing strategies.

 

[IanO]

Funny enough, 99ave is one way for the first half of the Avenue east and west of 105st, but they plowed both as two-way streets and so now you have no parking or loading space.

Again, curious about windrow removal timelines in the CBD.

 

[IanO]

I've mentioned this more than a few times on here and had more than a few 1on1 meetings with the City about this in the past... but how can we not remove all snow from places such as Rice Howard Way, the core of the core of the CBD? It's an area that is a front facing space for hotel guests, the corporate crowd, investors and visitors alike.

Last night it was a mushy mess of slush, dirt, snow and ice; there's little reason to not have City crews go in there overnight post snowfall and clear it completely.

It would really say to those using that area that it welcomes you and hopes that you enjoy our fair city, despite winter.

 

[ADob]

Out of curiosity, what sort of response do you get in those 1-on-1 meetings?

 

[northlands]

I've mentioned this more than a few times on here and had more than a few 1on1 meetings with the City about this in the past... but how can we not remove all snow from places such as Rice Howard Way, the core of the core of the CBD? It's an area that is a front facing space for hotel guests, the corporate crowd, investors and visitors alike.

Last night it was a mushy mess of slush, dirt, snow and ice; there's little reason to not have City crews go in there overnight post snowfall and clear it completely.

It would really say to those using that area that it welcomes you and hopes that you enjoy our fair city, despite winter.

If it's a service equity issue, the City already maintains and services their parks/greenspaces on a rating system where higher profile, more used parks (i.e. Ezio Faraone) receive higher service levels and frequency. Why not just extend the same system to CBD, entertainment districts, etc.?

 

[IanO]

Out of curiosity, what sort of response do you get in those 1-on-1 meetings?

Those were held a few years ago now, but I met with heads of snow removal and they simply did not seem to get the importance of areas such as this.

Now, that may or may not have changed, but the fact that RHW requires you to step into and over slushy messes in the pedestrian core of our CBD says A LOT about the lack of priorities and care of special areas.

 

[thommyjo]

Those were held a few years ago now, but I met with heads of snow removal and they simply did not seem to get the importance of areas such as this.

Now, that may or may not have changed, but the fact that RHW requires you to step into and over slushy messes in the pedestrian core of our CBD says A LOT about the lack of priorities and care of special areas.

Too many city staff live in the deep burbs and never move around without a car. It’s telling.

 

[David A]

Too many city staff live in the deep burbs and never move around without a car. It’s telling.

Mostly visitors and tourists seem to be an afterthought for those who run our city, although I am beginning to wonder if some actually hate them for some unknown reason.

 

[kcantor]

Those were held a few years ago now, but I met with heads of snow removal and they simply did not seem to get the importance of areas such as this.

Now, that may or may not have changed, but the fact that RHW requires you to step into and over slushy messes in the pedestrian core of our CBD says A LOT about the lack of priorities and care of special areas.

Just because the result doesn't fully align with your expectations doesn't mean those you were talking to "didn't get it".

Those you were talking to are constrained by city directions and policies set by council and that's the job they're paid to do.

What you're talking about is a change in city policy that applies to the entire city that says that the city clears sidewalks adjacent to municipally owned sited and private sector owners are responsible for sidewalks adjacent to their sites. As you know from your own recent experience, the owners of private sites don't always get the job done, sometimes through outright neglect but sometimes simply through things falling between the cracks and/or getting overlooked.

The best way to tackle something the private sector isn't doing is to work with the private sector, not to blame the public sector.

Call out the private sector owners (which as you know does actually does work sometimes).

Or, like the Alberta Avenue Business Association, have the DBA and/or DECA take on the task. Those owners who are doing it already could turn it over to DBA and reallocate those dollars if DBA undertook it (or they could choose to supplement it) and those owners that aren't doing it would simply pay an increased Business Improvement Area levy that the city actually collects on behalf of DBA and which is compulsory, not optional. It would likely also be possible to pursue sponsorship and other funding opportunities.

Maybe we could even do annual "name the equipment" contests where the techies could vote for things like "CTRL/Salt/Delete" or the protesters amongst us could vote for things like "ICE Out"...

 

[IanO]

RHW in the middle of our CBD - see private sector to the left.