HALIFAX – Crews have been working around the clock to clear roads and sidewalks in the Halifax area following a series of winter storms, but the city has already received more than 1,500 complaints about its snow-clearing efforts.
Of the 1,528 complaints received between Nov. 1, 2014 and Feb. 8, 2015, 1,114 were related to streets while the other 414 dealt with sidewalks.
“We totally understand people’s frustration,” said city spokesperson Jennifer Stairs. “There are certainly some areas where it is difficult to navigate, whether you’re a pedestrian or a motorist.”
READ MORE: Significant snowfall expected for Nova Scotia and P.E.I. on Friday
Overnight on Monday, crews sent to widen streets removed 350 dump truck loads of snow from Halifax and Dartmouth’s downtown areas.
While some streets are showing noticeable improvement, many motorists say they’re still annoyed with narrow streets that are making driving difficult.
“You’re lucky to get through when there’s other traffic,” said Nicole Isaac.
Some pedestrians say they’re still walking on the road to avoid icy and snow-packed sidewalks.
“It seems to just get worse each time we get snow,” said Katie Fawcett, who walks to school everyday. “It’s still pretty slippery on the sidewalks and on the road.”
The city has enforced its overnight winter parking ban eight times this winter, including five times in the past ten days. The ban was enforced 14 times last winter.
Stairs said it’s challenging to determine when to enforce the ban.
“It’s a balance between how much benefit it’s going to be for our crews and the impact on residents, particularly those who don’t have off-street parking,” she said.
Work to remove snow will continue overnight Tuesday, which will force some residents to remove their vehicles from the streets between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The streets affected include:
- Brenton Street
- Dresden Row
- Birmingham Street
- Sackville Street
- Grafton Street
- Market Street
- Summer Street between University Avenue and Sackville Street
- Barrington Street between Spring Garden Road and Morris Street
- Gottingen Street between Uniacke Square and Rainnie Drive
- Quinpool Road between Robie Street and Connaught Avenue
- Sackville Drive between Riverside Drive and Cobequid Road
- Dundas Street between Queen Street and Green Street
- Alderney Drive
- Victoria Road between Queen Street and Portland Street
- Intersection of Pleasant Street, Portland Street and Alderney Drive
- Wyse Road between Nantucket Avenue and Thistle Street
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