New West residents living on streets without sidewalks may see snow plows a little sooner than they have in the past.
At a Nov. 18 workshop, council considered a staff report related to accelerating sidewalk construction in Queensborough, where some streets have no sidewalks.
During a discussion on that issue, Coun. Tasha Henderson said she has spoken to residents, including a mom on Pembina Street, who noted the challenges pedestrians have in getting around in the snow. She said residential streets without sidewalks are in the same category as other residential side streets (Priority 4) when it comes to snow removal.
“I think we ought to look at perhaps reclassifying residential side streets that don't have sidewalks,” she said.
Henderson said people living on streets with sidewalks can walk on sidewalks that have been cleared by residents, but there is no alternate option for pedestrians on streets with no sidewalks.
“I'm wondering if we need to have a bit of a different lens when we're thinking about the priority for classification for snow clearing,” she said. “It seems to me that it would make sense, from an equity perspective, to bump up residential side streets that don't have sidewalk accessibility in the snowy months.”
Council unanimously supported Henderson’s motion to have staff revise the snow-clearing policy to increase the priority of streets that do not have sidewalks.
“I applaud councillor Henderson for bringing that forward,” said Coun. Daniel Fontaine. “I think it's very innovative to look at prioritizing streets that don't have sidewalks for snow clearing. I think that's great idea.”
Fontaine noted that other neighbourhoods, including Connaught Heights, also have streets that do not have sidewalks.
While Fontaine supported the idea, he initially wanted staff to first report back on cost and operational impacts of the revised policy for snow removal before council approved the motion.
Henderson agreed it’s best practice to get staff to report back to council on policy changes beforehand, but said this would not be a major overhaul of policy or have huge implications to the city. She said she’d like the change to be in place for this winter.
“I think the faster that we can move on that, the better,” she said.
Gabriel Beliveau, senior manager of public works, said staff typically operate off of active maps, so the priorities in the mapping sequence of snow removal priorities could be updated to reflect the change.
“Financial and operational implications will be minimal,” he told council. “It's a minor change in the priority sequence.”
Fontaine had put forward an amendment to the amendment calling on staff to report back on that matter after hearing from staff at Monday’s workshop but withdrew it after hearing from staff. He did, however, put staff on notice that he will be watching the budget “very closely” for any line items related to staffing increases for snow removal.
“I heard pretty clear from staff today that it's negligible and it can be operated within the current existing budget,” he said. “So, I'll take the staff a good faith, and I'll just remove the amendment to the amendment.”
The City of New Westminster’s snow response plan maps outlines its snow-clearing priorities and targeted response times:
* Priority 1: Arterial streets, roads providing major access for emergency vehicles and primary care facilities, and major roads with steep hills. At least two lanes will be plowed, salted and sanded as needed during the snowfall and cleared within 24 hours after the end of snowfall.
* Priority 2: Major collectors, bus routes and rapid transit stations, schools along steep hills and arterial bike routes. At least two lanes will be plowed, salted and sanded as needed, within 48 hours after the end of snowfall.
* Priority 3: Neighbourhood collectors, major civic facilities and schools in flat areas. These routes will be done within 24 hours after Priority 2 routes are complete.
* Priority 4: Local routes, only-access lanes for vehicles and solid waste collection. These will be done within 24 hours after Priority 3 routes are complete.
More to come on the overall plan for sidewalks in Queensborough.
