Time to re-set snow-clearing priority

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/time-to-re-set-snow-clear...

SPRING has arrived, the snow is finally melting, and the skating rinks that were our sidewalks and streets have been turned into swimming pools. With the sudden warming of the weather, our attention is quickly turning to thoughts of summer and the activities that go along with it.

But let’s not move too quickly to forget the past several months. Throughout the winter, there was a non-stop flurry of messages to the City of Winnipeg that it was failing us with its snow clearing. From the very first storm of the season, Winnipeggers were using every means possible to share their stories of the challenges of getting around in anything other than a car.

In November 2021, Mayor Brian Bowman acknowledged the calls for improvements when he said the city needed to do better. He recognized the challenges inflicted on pedestrians and anyone with mobility issues, and indicated the city would do better. Remember, this was the first snowstorm of the year, back in mid-November, long before we heard the “excuse” of record snowfall.

Since that time in mid-November 2021, the snow has kept falling and the complaints and concerns have kept piling up along with it. Rather than addressing the concerns of seniors and those with disabilities, which Bowman said he shared, we have continued to see, week after week, the concerns and challenges of every day Winnipeggers being ignored when it comes to getting around our city.

A quick scan of the Free Press archive shows at least 20 articles over the past five months specifically concerning the challenges of getting around in anything other than a car. In November, the mayor said, “We are a winter city, and as a council we accept that.” While this is a case of stating the most obvious, it should actually mean something.

“Winter city should be pedestrian friendly,” a Free Press editorial on Nov. 22, captured well the litany of challenges, inequities and barriers a huge proportion of residents face every winter. All that was before we began to see record accumulations of snow, before council members faced a winter of being snowed under with complaints about the state of our sidewalks.

And yet, there is hope to be found in this past winter of our discontent. Winnipeggers have loudly and overwhelmingly stated the status quo is no longer acceptable. The vast majority of the complaints and commentary this past winter have been about sidewalks, with people from all walks of life and in every corner of the city expressing concerns about the ability of pedestrians to get around.

There is a recognition that a large proportion of those who have any kind of mobility challenge are functionally trapped in their home for four or five months of the year — that includes people with disabilities, the elderly, parents with strollers, and people who use wheelchairs and walkers. Most of us will be on that list of the isolated and neglected at one point or another.

Over the past two pandemic years, more people have gone outside to discover and rediscover their community in person. Residents are out walking and biking around their communities, connecting with their neighbourhoods. COVID-19 has shifted the way we engage with our communities, and the city has in many ways responded.

We have more open streets, sidewalk patios, pop-up spaces for people to socialize and connect. This has continued through the winter, with activity along the rivers and at The Forks. Outdoor spaces have added a vibrancy to our lives that we didn’t know we were missing.

We have adapted the way we live in this city. With the pandemic, rising climate change and now the increased cost of living, we are engaging with our city in new ways. People are walking and biking around the city like never before. We are thinking more about supporting our neighbours. And we are being better for it.

As in most Canadian cities, the history of snow-clearing complaints in Winnipeg has largely been about the state of our streets for cars. But this past winter has seen that shift: residents are now placing people, rather than cars, at the centre of the narrative. Our community priorities are shifting away from car dominance to ones in which people come first; from focusing on convenience for cars to emphasizing the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods.

The City of Winnipeg’s snow-clearing policy needs to follow. We need to see our municipal leaders clearly indicate people matter more than cars. We need policies that don’t relegate significant numbers of our neighbours to being trapped in their homes.

Winnipeggers are stating clearly that people come first. We need to see the same commitment from our mayor and councillors.

*Brian Pincott is the executive director of Vélo Canada Bikes. Prior to moving to Winnipeg he was a city councillor in Calgary for 10 years.*