Snow dumped in handicapped parking spot in Mission angers passer-by

A pile of snow dumped in a handicapped parking space in the downtown area of Mission is raising some eyebrows, but the district is defending itself, saying it was dealing with an overwhelming volume of snow and parking was not considered a priority.

John Buchanan, who is not a resident of Mission, but has been working in the district for the last four months, says he noticed the snow pile while looking for a parking spot in the area on Monday.

“My wife uses handicapped parking, so I am aware of the challenges,” Buchanan said. “When I saw a clearly identified handicapped spot being used as a snow dump, I had to speak out. It’s just another example of this town’s inability, it seems, to plow their own streets.”

District of Mission Mayor Randy Hawes told Global News the handicapped stall in question is on 1st Avenue, which is also Highway 7, and as such, was plowed by the Ministry of Transportation subcontractor, and not the District of Mission.

Hawes says there are parking spots all over 1st Avenue that are covered with snow mounds because of how the plow side-casts the snow.

“Parking was not considered a priority when snow was coming down in almost unprecedented volumes as it was,” he said. “Making major roads passable was the priority. Removing the snow piles will begin as we get on top of our road structure.”

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Buchanan says he has been a resident of Squamish for decades. He says his home town and Mission face similar challenges.

“In Squamish, they plow all the snow, gather it in the centre of the town, come in with a front-end loader and a dump truck and actually remove it. This is a busy commerce area. So not only are they filling up a handicapped spot with snow, they are impacting local businesses.”

There is no weather station in Mission, so no official snowfall numbers are available, but unofficial reports suggest roughly 75 cm of snow fell in the Mission area between Friday morning and Monday night.

Hawes says they have had a fair share of complaints about the snow from “unreasonable social media trolls.”

“Their lack of patience and understanding that this has been a highly unusual situation has been very frustrating,” Hawes said. “Happily the vast majority of our citizens understand and appreciate the huge effort and incredibly long hours put in by our staff to keep our roads passable and safe.”

Michael Boronowski, the City’s Manager of Civic Engagement & Corporate Initiatives, also said there is a parking spot designated for people with disabilities, where crews have had to leave snow piled, but the others remain open.