Winnipeg sidewalk clearing going slow after major snowfalls

WINNIPEG — Snow clearing on city sidewalks has been a struggle this winter, according to one of Winnipeg’s top bureaucrats.

Chief Administrative Officer, Doug McNeil briefed councillors on snow plowing operations Tuesday morning.

Street plowing operations have gone well, but sidewalk clearing is taking longer than expected, he said.

“With the amount of snow, we switch from blades to snow blower attachments on the sidewalk equipment,” McNeil said. “While they move more snow, they do move more slowly.”

RELATED: ‘Right now we are trapped’: Winnipegger frustrated sidewalks not cleared after blizzard

The amount of snow Winnipeg received in December is “unprecedented,” he said.

That included back-to-back snowfalls of 30 centimetres and 23 centimetres, followed by strong winds, which created high windrows alongside sidewalks, making it harder on plows.

“Your efficiency on the timeliness of delivering a kilometre of sidewalk clearing drastically reduces,” said Jim Berezowsky, manager of street maintenance for the city of Winnipeg.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Your efficiency on the timeliness of delivering a kilometre of sidewalk clearing drastically reduces," said Jim Berezowsky, manager of street maintenance for the city of Winnipeg.

On Sharron Bay in East Kildonan, one resident said the sidewalk in front of her home is the worst she’s seen it in the more than fifty years she’s lived there.

“When the snow plows come they just keep dumping and dumping and the ones that come at night they dump more so on the sidewalks,” said Adeline Janik.

The city is planning a plowing operation for sidewalks along P3 and P2 (like Sharron Bay) routes that will start Tuesday.

Once they are finished, the plows will return to sidewalks along P1 routes.

The city has just over 30 plows to deal with more than  2,500 kms of sidewalks.