Residential ice ruts causing crashes and stuck vehicles, some Edmonton residents say
Derek Dupuis just happened to be outside for a cigarette Tuesday night when he saw a hatchback car smash into the side of one of his neighbours' pickups.
The collision was caught on his security camera. It shows the vehicle suddenly veer to the left before hitting the driver's door of a truck.
Dupuis believes the deep ice and snow ruts on his residential road are to blame.
“The car had so much pressure built up from trying to get over the rut, as soon as it grabbed the cement it just shot straight into the side of the truck,” he explained to CTV News Edmonton.
“It scraped all the way along and ripped the whole front end of her car off. I then immediately went out to make sure it wasn’t going to be a hit-and-run, and to of course make sure the driver was OK.”
Dupuis is not the only Brintnell resident that feels the ruts are dangerous.
“It's been honestly horrible over here. I'm lucky to drive a vehicle that's big and I have good tires, but I know other members of my family, other members of the cul-de-sac worry about getting stuck all the time. The two rows form and if you get out of those rows, you’re done,” said Kai Ongaro.
She said she hasn't seen any sign of plows on her street all winter.
“If people are getting into accidents and people are getting stuck daily, clearly something needs to be done about it,” Ongaro said.
As CTV News Edmonton was interviewing Dupuis in front of his house his security camera captured an Amazon delivery driver getting stuck in the middle of the road.
Dupuis said he sees vehicles getting stuck all the time.
Ice ruts in the Brintnell neighbourhood of Edmonton on January 26, 2023 (Marek Tkach/CTV News Edmonton)
“It just makes it more dangerous. And then they will make a rut outside of the main rut and any car that grabs that will shoot into one of the parked vehicles,” he said.
“I've contacted the city many times for our road and the last time this cul-de-sac was plowed was in 2019.”
Residential roads are at the bottom of the City of Edmonton's snow clearing priority list. The goal is to have all streets bladed to a five centimetre snowpack within eight days of starting a cycle.
Last week, while announcing the winners of the "Name a Plow contest," director of infrastructure operations Mark Beare said unseasonably warm weather delayed residential clearing.
On Monday, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said some local streets are "impassable" and residents are frustrated.
A Phase 2 residential parking ban came into effect on Tuesday night so crews could begin blading.
A city supervisor said Thursday that she couldn't comment on crashes but that crews began clearing residential roads in Brintnell earlier that morning.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach and Karyn Mulcahy
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.