To the editor,
How do you clear snow from Nanaimo sidewalks? Hope and patience.
This is the answer, according to some of our top city managers. The City of Nanaimo has a bylaw that requires residents and businesses to clear the snow from the sidewalks or footpaths adjacent to their properties. But the city has said that they don’t enforce this bylaw, because they don’t believe it’s in the public interest. Well, not enforcing the bylaw is sure not getting sidewalks cleared, and maybe you should ask the people who had to walk somewhere last week if they thought it was in their interest. It turns out that hope is an entirely ineffective approach for snow clearing.
There are very high expectations for patience. We are constantly reminded how hard city crews are working to clear snow, and I am sincerely grateful for all this effort. But, they are clearing roads for vehicles, not sidewalks for pedestrians. If we complain, we are told we ‘all’ need to be patient. I guess the city understands how impatient drivers are, since the same level of patience is not required from them as for pedestrians.
We are also told that these snow events are short-lived and infrequent, and so we should be patient. If it’s really just a minor inconvenience, then why does the city make finding a solution for one week a year sound insurmountable? The majority of our current council members advocated for a more walkable city: if there was ever a time to speak out about walkability, it would be when the snow makes it even harder for our most vulnerable to get around. In any case, it’s not an inconvenience to the people experiencing this, it is a serious safety and accessibility issue.
We can’t achieve a walkable city by snapping our fingers. It will take time. However, we should look at events like this as an opportunity to see how we can improve the walkability of our streets, not continue to defend the status quo. We have policies, by laws, tools and resources: let’s examine our priorities and practices and explore innovative options for how we can do our business better.
So, can we please stop relying on hope and patience to clear sidewalks, and instead ask for innovation and action to get the job done?
Wanda Thompson, Nanaimo
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.