Raise property taxes, offer new services or cut existing services. These are the decisions that Guelph City Council considers when reviewing budgets.
Since Guelph Transit’s move to a 40 minute bus schedule, residents have spoken loud and clear that they want to see an improvement in transit service as soon as possible.
Of course this will come with a considerable cost. To balance this cost, Council must decide how to pay for it.
One idea being examined by Council is to discontinue sidewalk snow clearing in residential neighbourhoods. Guelph is one of the few municipalities offering this expensive and largely ineffectual service to it’s residents.
Large machines patrol the hundreds of kilometers of Guelph’s sidewalks pushing and dragging snow and dropping salt and sand. Machines routinely leave an inch of snow behind. Tire and track marks also make their impressions in the snow.
As temperatures rise, this remaining snow soon turns to treacherous ice resulting in dangerous and unsafe conditions for pedestrians.
If property owners where responsible for the sidewalks in front of their homes, an improved service could be achieved with a savings to the municipality. Residents take pride in their homes and properties (as evidenced with the debate over pesticide use) and would be diligent with the clearing of ice and snow on sidewalks.
One legitimate concern with homeowner being responsible for sidewalks would be residents with physical challenges who would be unable to clear their sidewalks.
The City of Hamilton has addressed this concern with a neighbourhood volunteer program to assist residents who are unable to clear their sidewalks. To read more click here:
http://www.volunteerhamilton.on.ca/svc_snowangels.php. Ian