WINNIPEG – The City of Winnipeg is looking at clearing snow-cluttered back lanes around the city.
Residents in the East Kildonan area have been voicing their displeasure in recent days as snowplows leave behind massive windrows that block driveways and create hazards.
Some residents have damaged their vehicles; others have hurt themselves clearing their driveways of the windrows.
“When you have big chunks the size of your back window, what are you going to do?” asked Ron Desmerais, who bought a snowblower after he hurt his back. “I have carpal tunnel issues, back issues, and I got no one to help me out.”
Currently the city only clears windrows from the fronts of properties but on Wednesday, city council introduced a motion to reexamine that policy.
“There’s no doubt it’s a huge headache in terms of windrows, in terms of size and the amount of snow we’ve had,” said Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt, who introduced the motion. “The fact is we need to move the snow to back lanes in case we get a thaw but at the same time, we need to look at the future.”
How much the policy change would cost and how it would get done remains to be seen. City trucks used to clear front path windrows are too wide for narrow alleys. New modern snow clearing equipment that could haul the ice chunks out of alleys would be needed, city officials said.
“The idea is if in the future we can find a way with the technology available to remove the windrows, it would be ideal,” said Wyatt.
The earliest these policy changes could take effect would be next winter, officials said.
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