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After review, Williams Lake city council votes to keep snow and ice policy as is

Council is hoping for a snow angel program to assist vulnerable residents in keeping sidewalks clear
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Williams Lake snow dump at the foot of Comer Street. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Williams Lake city council wants to stay the course when it comes to the city’s snow and ice removal, with the added hope a snow angel program can be implemented to help people who cannot clear the sidewalks in front of their properties.

During budget talks Tuesday, March 14, at a special committee of the whole meeting, council discussed three possible options with staff.

The first option, which council agreed unanimously to support, is to keep the 2016 snow and ice control policy in place with no increase to the sidewalk cleaning budget.

With that option, council asked staff to come back with a report on developing a snow angel program.

Manager of public works Matt Sutherland said the city could possibly supply shovels and sand to any groups willing to participate in the snow angel program.

The second option would have been to purchase another sidewalk clearing machine for a $210,000 one-time purchase so the city would have two.

With that second machine the city would need to hire two more equipment operators for an annual additional cost of $210,000 total.

The equipment operators would work in parks in the summer, which would reduce the need to hire two of the eight summer students the city hires each year.

The third option would require changing the current snow and ice policy to allow staff to clear all sidewalks within the city over a longer period.

Staff suggested if council chose that option then the city’s sidewalks should be prioritized. Sidewalks as number one would have to be cleared within an 24-hour period, twos in a 48-hour period and threes done in a 72-hour period if it is not snowing.

Without adding extra staff, however, option three meant parks or paved walkways would not be cleared, nor handicap parking stalls or wheelchair let-downs downtown, there would be a slower response in clearing downtown parking lanes, transit bus stops and turnarounds.

Council debated the different options, but in the end reached consensus.

Director of municipal services Rob Warnock said in a report to council there are almost 60 km of sidewalks in the city.

“Currently the city maintains snow removal of 26.312 km (44 per cent) of the sidewalks through the city. The other 33.414 km (56 per cent) of sidewalks in the city, is the responsibility of residents to keep clear,” he noted.

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monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com

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Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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