'We gotta do better': Sohi blames budget, policy and climate change for bad Edmonton roads
Edmonton's new mayor says he has heard residents' complaints about snow and ice clearing, and Amarjeet Sohi promises the city will "do better" going forward.
"I am equally frustrated as all Edmontonians are," Sohi told reporters on Monday.
"This is about policy. This is about budget. Our staff is working really, really hard. My hats off to all of the people who are out there cleaning our roads and our neighbourhoods."
Sohi pointed out that Edmonton has been hit with snowstorms, extreme cold warnings, freezing rain and fast warmups this winter, which have all made things a mess on city streets.
The city was under a winter storm warning on Monday as freezing rain in the morning made roads and sidewalks icy. Snow and wind were expected to make the roads worse through Tuesday.
"There are things that are not in the city's control, particularly the amount of snow we had this year, and also the freeze thaws cycles and the number of them that we've had with freezing rain," he explained.
"This is no excuse. We gotta do better, and I am absolutely committed to asking these questions as we update our snow and ice policy this year."
Some residents have complained about how the city is plowing in neighbourhoods, creating large windrows which aren't always piled where they're supposed to be.
The city had to pause that program earlier this month, because of an unusually bad cold snap.
An audit released in February 2021 recommended 12 changes to the city's snow clearing policy.
The report said the city had 11,833 kilometres of paved roads to maintain in 2019, and it cost $54 million for plowing, sanding, and de-icing.
But Sohi said that's clearly not enough, and at least one council colleague agreed.
"Our policy and budget is not matching the realities that we are facing now with climate change and how climate change is causing more temperature fluctuations," Sohi said.
“I think the city does a good job with the resources that they have,” Coun. Andrew Knack said earlier this winter. “I think the issue is the resources that we have and how far out we’ve spread as a city."
Sohi promised a "rigorous debate" at council the next time snow and ice clearing is on the agenda.
Last August, a previous version of council ordered a report on "any equipment, staffing and budget changes" needed to improve snow and ice service. That report is due before council on Apr. 25.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.