Snow removal problems in Saint John related to 2012 budget cuts
Elimination of 3 plows has affected city's ability to deal with side streets, says Kevin Rice
Saint John city councillors who have been asking why snow clearing has been so slow on city side streets this winter may not like part of the answer they get at next week's meeting — budget cuts approved by council three years ago.
A report prepared by Kevin Rice, the city's deputy commissioner of transportation and environment services, says snow-clearing efforts during a string of back-to-back storms in January and February have been hampered by three large snow plows being eliminated during 2012 budget cutting.
"In 2012, three heavy plow units were eliminated as a result of a zero per cent budget request [from council]," Rice's report, prepared for council, states.
Two weeks ago, Saint John Coun. Ray Strowbridge raised the issue of poor snow-clearing on the city's low priority side streets for discussion and council turned the issue over to Rice to report back on.
In his report, Rice lists the big problem as unusually severe weather that saw the city receive 150 per cent of a normal winter's entire snowfall in just five weeks, but he says reduced equipment levels then caused their own problems.
For example, he said the city's Millidgeville area, which has been the source of a lot of complaints, went from two plows to one, following the budget cuts
"When you lose equipment it stands to reason that you're going to have less service," Rice told CBC News on Friday.
Tom Splane, who lives at the bottom of Centre Street on Saint John's west side, says city service is so slow, he often plows the street with his own truck.
"For whatever reason they don't plow all the way down [the street]," said Splane.
"The neighbours are getting stuck and so as a neighbourly thing, I'll drop the blade and plow down."
Rice's report is scheduled to go to city council Monday night, just hours after another major snowstorm is scheduled to hit the city on Sunday.
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