Advocates say snow clearing bylaw not accessibility friendly Set Flamborough as My Local news
By Mac ChristieReporter
Thu., Dec. 29, 2022
A Waterdown resident is calling on the City of Hamilton to make the bridge on Dundas Street East in the village’s core safe and accessible after snowfalls.
Tiff Garvey, who has spina bifida and uses a motorized wheelchair, said the lack of snow removal on the bridge sidewalk makes it very dangerous for her and other people with mobility devices and mobility issues to cross.
“It makes it a big challenge for people who are elderly or disabled because they have mobility devices that – with the roadside safety salt – can be eaten up internally,” she said. “They can get stuck easily with the slush and the ice.”
Garvey said she recently went out for lunch with a friend after a snowfall and her friend had to scuffle a path through the snow so she could get through.
“I’ve attempted it by myself a few times – worse case scenario I would go on the road – but that’s not the best option.”
Garvey said while one of her neighbours has shovelled the sidewalk on the bridge to make it safe for her, that shouldn’t be necessary.
“It should be the city,” she said, adding she crosses the bridge daily – and has been dealing with the lack of snow clearing maintenance for years. “It becomes a huge hassle and danger – and people don’t realize it.”
Peter Sniuolis, the City of Hamilton’s manager of roadway maintenance, confirmed the Dundas Street bridge is a Priority 1 road, meaning the city is responsible for clearing the roadway and sidewalk.
While he said the city will monitor the bridge moving forward, if residents notice a location hasn’t received adequate service as outlined at www.hamilton.ca/snow, they can call the city at 905-546-2489 to submit the information.
This year the city has added 469 kilometres of sidewalks along roadways where transit operates to the previous 397 kilometres of sidewalks it cleared in the past – for a total of 866 kilometres city-wide. Previously, the city cleared sidewalks adjacent to municipally owned property, private lots that do not face the road (reverse frontage lots), in Ancaster, and sidewalks adjacent to school property, owned by the public school boards.
The clearing of routes occurs when the forecast calls for snow or ice accumulation and is expected to be cleared within 24 hours of the end of a snow event or 24 hours after the end of a declared significant weather event.
However, unplowed and impassable sidewalks are a city-wide issue –
and one that should change – said longtime Hamilton accessibility advocate Tim Nolan.
Nolan, who is a member of the city’s advisory committee for persons with disabilities and has started a group called Accessible Hamilton, made a motion at a recent committee meeting asking city staff to review the snow clearing bylaw “so that it may be updated to meet the needs of all persons with disabilities.”
“The current bylaw makes absolutely no mention about clearing snow for the sake of people with disabilities,” he said.
He said while the current bylaw requires property owners to clear sidewalks and curb cuts adjacent to their property after five centimetres of accumulation, snow plows often block in the curb cuts with mounds of snow, which can be very dangerous and impassible for those with mobility challenges.
Nolan said the current bylaw for homeowners creates barriers for people with mobility challenges, because although it gives more time for property owners to clear the snow, in the interim the sidewalk is often impassable. In addition, he said the issue is the bylaw system is complaint based – and takes a long time.
“These things have been going on forever and it can be fixed. It can be fixed, in my mind, with the snow being cleared by the city.”
In fact, Nolan cited a 2021 Supreme Court of Canada case that found people can sue cities over snow removal activities that cause injury as evidence the city should update its snow clearing policy. In the case, a Nelson, B.C. woman brought a lawsuit against the city after injuring her leg while climbing over a snowbank created by city plowing operations.
Nolan feels the city’s opting to clear snow on bus routes is a response to this decision. Personally, he would like to see the city plow all its sidewalks, rather than relying on private property owners.
Meanwhile, Ward 15 Coun. Ted McMeekin said he hasn’t heard from residents with concerns about accessibility around snow and sidewalk clearing.
He said while having the city clear all the sidewalks city-wide has been discussed many times – something that is done and area rated in Ancaster – he said he could foresee a future where the city is responsible.
“If I had reason to believe it was the will of all the residents in Ward 15 to have their sidewalks cleaned by the city, it would be a great employment program, but it would have to be paid for.”
