Copy of letter and document as provided to Council on October 17th, 2014. The final vote is on Monday, October 20th, 2014 @ 6:30pm, Spencerville City Hall. Come out and show your support if you can. I will not be permitted to speak as I appeared before Council at the Committee of the Whole 2 weeks ago. To: Mayor and Members of Council Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal 18 Center St. P.O. Box 129 Spencerville, ON K0E 1E0 Via Service at City Hall From: Ian Colquhoun Keep Cardinal’s sidewalks and streets clear! ian.colquhoun@gmail Subject: Request to amend proposed Winter Maintenance Plan. As expressed by many members of Council, we have heard assurances that the Winter Maintenance Plan is an effort to put into writing the existing levels of service, and that a “Class 2” sidewalk designation can be changed at a later date by a future council. Why wait for the future when we can make good Public Policy today! There has been a lack of objectivity throughout the discussion and debate as to which sidewalks should be listed as “Class 2”, e.g. not receiving winter maintenance services. Attached you will find a document created in the hopes of injecting objectivity into the debate. Do not be distracted by discussions of “obstructions”, “insufficient width”, “historic levels of service”, “$4/meter”. Most, if not all of the sidewalks to be designated as “Class 2” (within Cardinal) can be maintained with existing equipment at no additional cost to the taxpayer. As you review the document, you will note that the sidewalks ARE wide enough to be plowed, with the exception of a couple of “pinch point”, created by municipal infrastructure and/or a lack of sidewalk maintenance. Where the sidewalk plow is unable to travel, clearing can take place as snowbanks are removed and, as I think you will find, through the efforts of the residents of that street. You will also note in the cases of West St., Victoria St. and Lambert St., there are NO obstructions that would prevent snow clearing from these sidewalks. In the same fashion that our streets are cleared of snow, Staff should be directed to clear all sidewalks to the best of their abilities given the conditions that are present at that time. If a car is parked improperly, or a tree has fallen into the roadway, or a heavy snowfall has created large snowbanks, that street isn’t then added to a list that won’t receive future snow clearing efforts. The obstruction is dealt with and clearing work resumes. Staff already have all the tools they need at their disposal to ensure that our streets AND sidewalks are properly maintained. Our recommendation to Council is to amend the Winter Maintenance Plan such that NO sidewalks within the limits of Cardinal are specifically excluded from winter maintenance, with the understanding that sidewalk clearing will occur to the extent that actual conditions permit. In addition, Council should direct Staff to explore winter maintenance options for sidewalks within Spencerville and Ventnor that do not currently get snow removal. These options need not be costly, e.g. the expansion of existing snow clearing contracts or the transporting of existing equipment to these areas and having the work done by Township Employees. Ian Colquhoun Keep Cardinal’s sidewalks and streets clear!
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:18:29 +0000