Disability advocates want more winter sidewalk maintenance

The city of Sudbury has stepped up sidewalk maintenance this winter season, but local disability advocates say it's still a challenge to get around in the snow.

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Even though Robert McCarthy doesn't let the weather stop him from getting out and about, snow-packed winter sidewalks can be a challenge to navigate in his wheelchair.

"That makes it, I don't want to say impossible, but very very difficult to get out and do the things I love to do," he says.

McCarthy tries to have a companion with him when he can, in case he does get stuck and needs helps navigating through the snow. He says going out requires a lot more planning, but even then it's hard to predict what the weather might do.

Daniel Lebrun says a passing driver had to help him once, when his wheelchair got stuck at an intersection.

"That's the chance you take when you're wheeling in snow with a wheelchair."

Lebrun says the city can barely keep up with the snow piling up around his neighbourhood.

"As they remove the snow, the next day it snows. You're probably waiting until late afternoon before you can get out."

More sidewalks being cleared this season

The city recently introduced an enhanced winter sidewalk maintenance plan, which rolled out on Nov. 1, 2017.  Around 350 km of Sudbury's 440 km of sidewalks are now cleared — five per cent more than in previous years.

Currently, those sidewalks receive one pass per day, and municipal tractors have four to 24 hours to clear and sand once eight centimeters of snow has accumulated.

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"For the most part people can use our sidewalks, even in a winter condition," says Tony Cecutti, general manager of infrastructure services for the city.

"But we do recognize that there's times of the winter when it's not as easy to get around with a wheelchair, as it might otherwise be with a different standard."

McCarthy says he would like to see sidewalks cleared more frequently, as well as have sidewalk conditions monitored more closely.

City considering its options

In the city's most recent sidewalk winter maintenance report, staff determined that continuous plowing would cost an additional $500,000 in labour, material and fuel.

"[It's] obviously a very expensive consideration, and one that I'm sure will be debated and discussed in the future again," Cecutti says.

Both McCarthy and Lebrun hope the city will keep accessibility in mind the next time sidewalk maintenance is discussed.

"I understand that it's not going to be perfect," McCarthy says.

"I'm not saying that I expect within two minutes of a snowfall that a plow's going to be out there. But I would like a little more attention paid...to these issues."