Edmonton bylaw officers are stepping up enforcement on winter sidewalk clearing, after being flooded with more complaints so far this year compared to the same time last year.
The city says clearing neighbourhood sidewalks of ice and snow seems to have slipped the minds of residents, and that can be dangerous.
The icy walks have affected Helen Kreider’s family.
Kreider says her 82-year-old sister-in-law is in hospital with a broken hip and shoulder, after slipping on an icy sidewalk in the area of 64 Street and 133 A Avenue last week.
“Her head was in the snow bank and she was lying on the ice on the side walk,” Kreider said. “She said, ‘Helen, help, help.’”
The incident makes Kreider angry – because it could have been avoided.
“It’s a bad hazard, a very bad hazard, especially for older people,” she said.
“This is awful. It could happen to me, it could happen to you. The ice is terrible.”
Kreider isn’t the only with those concerns.
Thousands of sidewalk complaints
The city says it has received more than 7,000 complaints this winter, from angry residents fed up with trying to get around on icy sidewalks.
Troy Courtorielle, with the city, says that number is up 35 per cent from the same time last year.
“That is a lot of complaints,” Courtorielle said. “We have seen a bit of an increase.”
Courtorielle says residents are responsible for clearing any portion of a sidewalk that abuts a city roadway, adjacent to their property.
While he understands clearing sidewalks may not always be easy, he’s hoping residents put safety first.
“We understand that it can be fairly difficult, especially with the change and fluctuation with weather where it gets warmer and gets colder, the ice builds up and gets fairly thick,” he said.
“Please consider people’s safety and public and pedestrian safety and at the very least put some gravel or salt on there to break the ice up until you can get to it at a proper time.”
Injuries due to icy walks can become a civil matter
Courtorielle says if someone is injured on a sidewalk that you are responsible for, it can become a civil matter, especially in areas around schools and bus stops.
“We just want to get the message out there that people are responsible for their sidewalks,” he said.
Residents who don’t clear sidewalks can face a $100 fine, but typically the city issues warnings before handing out tickets.
Courtorielle is encouraging residents to pick up sand and gravel, which are available at community halls.
Click here for a list of tips from the city for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks.
Meanwhile Kreider says she’s sad to see her sister in hospital, over something that could have easily been avoided.
“This could have been avoided if the sidewalk would have been free, she wouldn’t have fallen, but she’s in the hospital and it’ll be a long time, she’s 82-years-old. She’s not going to heal that quickly.”
With files from Ashley Molnar
