A couple of other thoughts related to sidewalk plowing…
1) I don’t believe that the cost savings would be minimal over the long term. There will be some up front educational costs. There will be some initial by-law enforcement costs. But like the lawn watering issue, the by-law will end up being self-policing after a few years. People don’t water their lawns if their lawn will be the only green in a sea of brown. Likewise, people will clear their sidewalks if theirs is the only sidewalk with snow / ice on it. It may take a few years, but Guelph residents have shown they can and will adapt to new (and sometimes very
unpopular) measures, especially if they understand that the measure is for the common good.2) I see that staff have recommended that the ‘free seasonal overnight parking’ service be removed in order to achieve the lower tax increase.
Let’s be honest here…this is not a removal of a service unless you call having more by-law officers giving tickets a service. This ‘service’ is essentially free since it doesn’t require any enforcement.
What the city loses is parking ticket revenue. So, in effect, staff are asking council to allow more parking tickets to be issued in order to bring down the tax increase. I think this is wrong-headed.Again, let’s look at this from the triple bottom line perspective:
Economic. No need for enforcement of the overnight parking by-law therefore less cost to the city in terms of human resources and vehicle costs.
Environmental. No need for enforcement of the overnight parking by-law therefore less city vehicles creating air pollution and depleting fossil fuels.
Societal. By-law officers can be assigned to tasks more important to the community. Encourages staying overnight after drinking instead of driving drunk. Less inconvenience to residents since they would not have to call in to register parked vehicles. Less aggravation with getting parking tickets. And just a little more freedom for the average citizen.
I believe that polling done by the city showed that seasonal overnight parking was popular among residents, perhaps just as popular as sidewalk plowing. I’d much rather see seasonal overnight parking be continued, and the sidewalk plowing service be removed.
Please consider making these changes to the budget. DS