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City of Campbell River opens can of worms asking for snow clearing input

Well, it’s interesting that the city is requesting public input into its snow clearing policy.
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Well, it’s interesting that the city is requesting public input into its snow clearing policy.

This is one survey that won’t be greeted with apathy, judging by the strong opinions the public has expressed in various forums.

I find it admirable that the city is going to do this but I have to wonder, though, if this can ever be anything more than window dressing? I guess council will have to implement some suggestions from the public or it will face a lot of irate voters. Hopefully, something innovative can come out of this process that quiets the ravenous hordes but I’m skeptical.

It’s going to be a challenge to accommodate one of the most common complaints on social media or letters to the editor, that being: how long people had to wait for snowplows to clear their street.

City policy is, generally, to begin with major routes and then more secondary roads followed by the little streets. So, the small streets are the last to be cleared, by policy. And that makes sense. So, to find a solution that clears residential streets immediately but not break the city budget seems likes a pretty daunting task, to me.

Because that’s the crux of the matter, you can have snow cleared as soon as it falls, if you want. But be prepared, that’s going to cost millions. And millions in costs means, yes, raising taxes. And the overwhelming sentiment in this city is that people pay too much in taxes. So, where is the money going to come from?

Hopefully somebody filling out the survey has a solution. Because I don’t see one.

One of the problems with snow clearing in this region – it’s so inconsistent. Sure, Dawson Creek has, presumably, a set budget for snow clearing and the city’s crews get right on it but snow in the northeast falls pretty consistently throughout the winter, with the occasional blizzard here and there. It’s pretty predictable and cities like that can budget for it.

On the coast, you could go through the winter with barely a few flakes flying one year but the next year could be like the winter we experienced in 2016-17. It still amazes me how much snow we got. But didn’t we get no measurable snow only a few short years before?

I’ve always felt that the city should budget for a “pretty decent snowfall” and if that money doesn’t get used, roll it over into the next year’s budget and keep doing that to create an account that will be usable in the once-a-decade snowfall like last year’s. But that’s not how a lot of government budgets work. Usually in government, at least at the senior levels, departments make sure they use all of their budget allotment. That’s because if they only use 90 per cent of their budget in one year, they will only get 90 per cent next year. There’s no incentive to finish ahead of your budget because you’ll get it taken away.

So the city depends on tax revenue raised and if more money is going to be spent on snow clearing, it has to be taken from something else or more has to be raised.

It’s not just how many streets are cleared, of course, it’s also the techniques used that generate complaints. Having lived here 28 years, I’ve seen it all. I can remember furrows higher than your head piled up in the middle of the street!

Some of the more annoying inconveniences that bug me are the plows that (finally) go down your street and block up your driveway just after you’ve shovelled it out. But really, what are they going to do? Do you know how long it will take (and cost in staff time) to plow a street, stopping to scrape the entrance to every driveway? Some things you just have to tolerate.

Another thing that concerns me is the sidewalk clearing, or lack of it. Residents are encouraged to clear their sidewalks but not everybody does. And not everybody lives on the street with that awesome gentleman who owns a snowblower that he whips around the neighbourhood clearing the sidewalks (probably illegally).

But last year, the sidewalk on Dogwood Street in front of Carihi remained completely buried throughout the whole snowfall. I don’t care that it’s the street my office is on (Carihi is next door) but I’m concerned about school kids and the elderly having to walk on the roadway (albeit plowed). Now, I know the school district’s got big properties to deal with on their own and Carihi’s actual entrance is not on Dogwood. So, if we’re going to spend extra money, maybe it could go to main street sidewalk clearing?

There’s a lot to cover in this topic and the survey will be interesting.

This is a big issue that generates strong feelings. The comments on the the two stories on this we published this week are already generating suggestions. That’s great, but remember, you need to participate in the survey and express those feelings to the city directly.