New Brunswickers concerned over icy sidewalks

Fredericton residents say they’re facing dangerous ice caused by extreme warm and cold temperatures in recent days.

Perry George, who walks up and down the hill on Regent Street almost every day, said it’s the worst he’s seen the city’s sidewalks in years.

He added that he believes some sidewalks have ice that may be as much as two to three inches thick and that it’s extremely helpful when the City sands and salts the sidewalks.

Mike Walker, the City of Fredericton’s manager of roadways and operations, said it’s been a “challenging winter” for the City, which maintains all 250 km of Fredericton’s sidewalks.

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“I think every storm except one that we’ve had this year has involved some type of freezing rain or rain or a melt and freeze overnight,” said Walker.

He added crews have been out sanding roads and sidewalks and will continue to do so “until either the ice is gone or they’re not slippery.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Claude Cote said the major fluctuation in temperatures has been a “rollercoaster.”

“What we’ve seen is a very mild system that affected the province last week, so we lost quite a bit of snow and we’ve had five to 10 mm of rain and, in the wake of that system, we had again a blast of cold arctic air, so it froze solid and therefore resulted in icy conditions,” Cote said.

Walker said the City has a stockpile of sand and is using it as needed.

Each time the temperature dips below freezing, ice covers the sand that’s already on the ground and the City ends up “back at square one,” he said.

Walker said crews are out monitoring streets every day and advises anyone who notices dangerous icy conditions to call Service Fredericton.