Peter Hume preaches patience, boasts of Ottawa snow-removal standards

Ottawa holds itself to very high standards for snow removal and residents need to be patient after last week's storm, according to former city councillor Peter Hume.

Speaking on Tuesday with Robyn Bresnahan, host of CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, Hume said it is very difficult to satisfy residents when it comes to plowing and removing snow.

• Ottawa residents remain frustrated over snow-clogged streets
• Ottawa residents complain about snow cleanup 2 days after record storm

"Snow removal [is] the bane of a councillor's existence. There's no satisfying the constituent," Hume said.

"We're not out fast enough. We're not doing things soon enough. You have someone sitting in their house, looking out their window, saying 'When's my plow going to come?'"

Hume said expectations are always high for snow plows.

'Where's My Plow' app only raises hopes

The introduction of the "Where's My Plow" app, which notifies residents when city snow plows are scheduled to clear their streets, only increases expectations, Hume added.

"They're causing a little bit of their own problem, raising those expectations. But we are a winter city, and the way to solve snow complaints in a winter city is patience, unfortunately," Hume said.

"You're never going to get your resources where the citizen expects them to be, as fast as the citizen wants them to be there."

Hume said the province's auditor general has told the City of Ottawa its standards are higher than most Ontario cities when it comes to snow removal.

Complaints have also been piling up for the city and councillors since 26 centimetres of snow fell in the capital overnight on Dec. 28 into Dec. 29. Hume said councillors can only do so much.

"It's going to take time. They don't have a magic wand to make it all go away instantaneously, unfortunately," he said.

• You can hear Peter Hume's entire interview here.