The city should hire someone for the east side and someone for the west side to plow all day long
I suppose it is. I’ve always thought of plowing as snow removal and ploughing as farming.
In some towns they have all the side streets plowed by 10 am…
not that there’s anywhere to go!
Yeah, I hurt myself.
BAD.
From walking in our city’s most luxurious sidewalks.
can I sue?
anyone wanna see a semi-fractured & popped out knee cap?
Oh my goodness I am sorry to hear that…
Screenshot or it didn’t happen.
Lets not forget about the letter carriers who are out there ensuring that you receive your mail during this period. I have watched them trying to struggle through this mess and cannot even use the sidewalks in many cases. We should all give thanks to them for the job that they do in all kinds of weather conditions to get your mail to you.
I realize that the City is in a financial bind, but a little of pre-planning could go a long way in these circumstances. I was speaking with a city worker yesterday who said that they didn’t have the manpower, or proper equipment to remove all the snow. If that is the situation, then they should be hiring contractors to do the job.
On a final note, does anyone know why you can’t reach anyone at City Hall?
Cityhall has been closed from Dec 22 to Jan 5. I tried paying my utilities before the holidays and there were signs up.
It’s bad anywhere that a community that is not used to a lot of snow is trying to cope. Down here on the Island, EVERYONE is bitching about the lack of plowing/sanding/etc and you only have to see the cars buried window-high on some of the side streets to realise that a lot of people are walking these days. Or just staying home, in some cases. Because of the freeze and thaw cycles, some streets are skating rinks and the majority of people live on hills!
When we were living in the Rockies, snow-plowing was at the top of the priority lists and yes, more than a few streets had a “no-parking” rule between 3 am and 8 am so that crews could really get the job done. There were guidelines in place for when crews began to plow and the idea was to never let it get to the state where people could not get around on the main streets by let’s say 8 am, but then again the vast majority of homeowners owned a snow-blower and were prepared to clean out windrows from the base of their driveways once the plows had gone past. (in some cases, you needed to do this twice a day but at least the streets themselves were in great shape) They also used dumptrucks paired with front-end loaders to pick up snow from the downtown area and major intersections, dumping that snow in a special area set aside for it so that walking around downtown was not hazardous. Lots of gravel spread instead of salting (since it’s hard on the environment) and staying on top of stuff, even through the holidays. I’ve yet to see anything like that done here and not only are a lot of parking spaces unusable because of the mounds of snow pushed into them but some corners are hazardous because of piled snow reducing visiblity for drivers and pedestrians. We’re okay because we’re used to winter conditions and getting around is not too bad in our truck but people with small cars are having a hard time on the choked side streets or the skating rinks we’ve seen from the lack of sanding. Walking is a bitch when the local crews here are half-heartedly sprinkling a tiny amount of sand/salt…it would be much better to really use a lot of gravel and then pick it up in the spring!!
Anyhow, it’s possible to cope with large amounts of snow (we had close to 20 feet of snow one winter) and still make walking/driving people friendly, you just have to have a well-planned method of coping that does more than just push snow around in a haphazard manner!!
One nice thing about living in the Rockies that I found is that most homeowners had off-street parking, so that was an option. The number of places with no off-street parking here is so huge.
That’s true and the only way around it is to dig your way out promptly each time the grader or belly-plow makes a run down your street so that your vehicle doesn’t end up being one of those big lumps that keeps the city from cleaning in that spot for the duration of the snow…and don’t throw the snow back into the street! Hire a neighbourhood kid if you have to but if you are continally getting plowed in and the snow continues to accumulate, it’s just one more headache for the city workers who are trying to keep the roads clean for the rest.
Bisect the driveway lengthwise by pushing the snow straight ahead of you down to the end of the driveway. This should leave a single stripe down the middle of your driveway.
Clear out any plow droppings at the end of the driveway.
Working your way back up one side of the bisected driveway, take your shovel in one hand, and push the snow to the side of the driveway as far as you can.
Take a step up the driveway, and repeat the last step.
Repeat the previous two steps until you get to the top of the driveway.
Now, go back down the same side of the driveway that you just came up. Scoop one shoveful of snow off into your pile. If you don’t have too much snow, you can do this in a nice, low to the ground, efficient scoop which doesn’t require you to bend over at all. If you have a large snow bank, you may have to lift it up higher. Make sure you bend at the knees.
Take a step or two back down the driveway and repeat the last step, scooping the snow onto the grass.
When you get to the bottom, depending on how much snow you have, you may need to turn around and go back up. Take a break at the top and bottom of the driveway if you need it.
Repeat this for the other side of the driveway.
Clearing the section of the road where the plow comes from will help a lot. Next time the plow comes you will have little to no snow in front of your drive.
When clearing the front of the drive think of your nieghbour as well, as Saffron said “do not shovel back onto the road” It will just end up in the front of someones drive way again.
Oh I totally noticed that when we moved to Rupert a couple of years ago. We rented a house before buying one and the rental had no off street parking. We arrived and less than a month later we had that one day of snow where it was almost a foot. I wasn’t too concerned because eventually snow does melt, but when I had to watch all the bad drivers coming up the hill to Roosevelt school (or turning onto Summit) I just about a heart attack. With both of our cars on the street, watching as people gunned their engines, turned onto Summit and then fishtailed further down the street. I am high maintenance when it comes to my car - and I thought for sure someone was going to total it that day. Glad they didn’t though! 
I saw one plow this morning (730am) on a different street, but none since - and I live on a bus route. At least buses are still running.
OK …there comes a point where, you cant plow any more. I would say that several areas of town have reached that pinnacle. It should be on a REMOVAL basis now. I have lived here all my life and can only remember '81 having this much snow for so long.
I live in " a dead end street with only one out/let inlet" and its on a a grade. The snow plowing sanding is non existent. Good thing my wife (after busting my balls!!!) goes out and bustes her own shovelling the drive way and part of the street.
I must be lucky…I also live on a dead-end street with one steep exit and I get plowed regularly.
I think Jamie Storey has been doing our street. Thanks buddy!
I’ll bet getting plowed regularly opens the door for you to come and go whenever you want, right? 
Right.
The city could definitely make the roads wider… there are lots of places in town where you can’t pass another vehicle coming towards you without pulling over into the snowbank. Then when the roads are wider, you make room for people to walk on the road, since there’s no way most people can walk on the sidewalks.
Yes, the sidewalks are NON-EXISTANT in most parts of town! I walk every day and have resorted to walking on the side of the road against the traffic because there’s no way you can walk on the sidewalks without hurting yourself, or taking so damn long jumping from spot to spot, and sinking a foot that you give up and walk on the road anyway. I’ve also seen numerous people roll ankles and twist their knees out trying to manouvre over snow banks to cross the street.
I’m quite glad the buses are still running though… as that’s been my primary mode of transportation since it snowed. The city is TRYING with a couple stops, putting out so much sand you’d think you were in Mexico, but not shoveling enough for the bus to actually hit that sandy part for you to get on or off. But yes… they are trying… and to my knowledge none of the buses have had problems yet.