When there is a heavy snowfall, the roads are the first priority for clearing in Centre Wellington.
Township council, meeting in committee of the whole on Monday, received a roads department report after it got two letters of complaint about an unplowed municipal parking lot during the major snowfall that arrived in the area on a Sunday, Dec. 16.
David Shaw, of Shaw Music in Fergus, wrote a letter of complaint to Business Improvement Area executive director Julia Tyndale-Biscoe. She, in turn, forwarded his letter to council , and then wrote her own letter, citing a complaint of her own.
Shaw wrote about snow removal at the municipal parking lot next to Universal Rentals in Fergus, and the access roads to that lot.
“It seems that this lot and the access routes to it receive very low priority treatment when it comes to snow removal,” Shaw wrote.
“We also assume that the town of Centre Wellington owns this lot. In a town where downtown businesses are suffering due to competition from such places as the Fergus Market and the malls on the south side of town, why is this lot not kept in better condition?
“Following the storm on Dec. 16 … this lot was not fully cleared until Dec. 18. To this day, it remains icy and treacherous,” his letter of Jan. 2 stated. “Why would anybody want to park there so they could patronize the businesses on the main street when they can park in a lot on the south side of town which is kept clean and salted/sanded.”
Shaw said he is aware that the walkway between his business and Thompson’s Furniture is under at least partial private ownership, but, he asked, why can there not be an agreement with the township to ensure the areas are kept clean and safe.
Shaw concluded, “We will welcome the opportunity to be part of a discussion and plan to get snow removal in that parking lot area improved.”
Tyndale-Biscoe noted in her letter, “With respect to the municipal parking lot referred to, the BIA did in fact, have to have it cleared privately last month. In addition, on Dec. 22, I actually slipped over on the ice when stepping out of a store and fell down rather spectacularly. It would have been an awful advertisement for the downtown had the same thing happened to an elderly lady who could quite easily have had a broken hip for Christmas.”
The first reaction from council to those complaints came from Walt Visser, the chairman of the operations committee, who said, “I was very disappointed to get two letters like that. I monitor snow clearing – and I found our staff did a fantastic job.”
Visser said that Tyndale-Biscoe sent the letter without any communication with the BIA members. Her letter was on BIA letterhead.
Visser then asked the Director of Public Works for his side of the issue.
Ken Elder said the township has over 800km of roads to plow, and 16 vehicles with which to accomplish that. He has a staff of 20 people, and he noted later that three could not work due to illness or vacation. As well, the township has five staff who work full time clearing sidewalks.
He told council the roads department tries to get roads cleared of snow within five hours, and sidewalks within 24 hours. He said when there is more than eight inches of snowfall, there are two township machines that can handle that amount – one based in Elora and the other in Fergus.
Elder said the day in question there was 20cm of snow (7.8 inches).
“We plowed in the morning and afternoon, including parking lots,” he said of that day. The drivers were sent home at 8:30pm, having made little headway against the heavy snowfall, and were told to start plowing again at 5am. The snow stopped that night, and he said by 9am workers were ready to plow the municipal lot in question.
But, Elder said, by the time crews reached the parking lot, there were cars scattered all over it, with some in the laneways, and it was unsafe to do any plowing. Instead, the township put off plowing the lot until Tuesday at 4am, when it was empty.
As for the alleyway that Shaw complained about, Elder said it is private property and the township cannot plow it. If it were to do that, it would automatically assume responsibility for keeping it plowed from that point onward.
Elder also explained the sidewalk clearing policies, with Tyndale-Biscoe’s complaint about falling.
He said her complaint was “the first we’d heard about it.” He said township crews do not go closer than two feet to any merchant’s doorway, mainly for safety and liability.
Elder added he would appreciate hearing such complaints as soon as they occur.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj was surprised at the BIA hiring a private snow mover to clear the municipal lot, because that could cause the township major liability problems.
Elder said of his staff, “We try to do the best we can … Staff was a little upset with this letter.”
Councillor Fred Morris sits on the Fergus BIA and said he felt he should ask questions on behalf of that group.
But, first, he said, “I recognize the enormous task in front of you,” with a major storm.
But, Morris said, just before Christmas, with heavy competition, he can understand why merchants were upset. “It’s critical, in their minds, there be no impediment” to customers reaching their stores.
He also wondered if 9am was “a little bit late in the day, since most shops are open,” to arrive at the parking lot for clearing.
Elder pointed out that in a storm that big, it might be the best his crews can do. He said it makes no sense to pull crews off road plowing to clear a parking lot. He added that Centre Wellington crews had all the snow cleared and physically removed from Elora and Fergus by Thursday.
He added that if he brings extra people in to work with less than 72 hours notice, they get time and half, while, if he waits, they get only $1.50 per hour for shift premium. As well, since the most snow fell on a Sunday, double time was involved for some hours.
“The township bit the bullet” he said of the cost for snow clearing for that storm.
Councillor Bob Foster, too, asked about the possibility of earlier plowing for lots because it was just before Christmas.
Elder again stated that the township’s main liability is for roads.
And, he said of potential customers, “If they can’t get out on roads, how do they get to the parking lot?”
He also explained that only some trucks are the right size to clear parking lots.
Councillor Walt Visser said of road clearing, “The rural areas are just as important.”
He said those roads have to be cleared for emergency vehicles, and people living in the country also need to be able to drive.
“A lot of rural people wait for those plows to go to town,” Visser said.
Elder noted that the storm was exceptionally severe, and said, “It may be a one-time problem. If not, we’ve got a problem. But, our priority is roads and then parking lots. That’s how we do it.”
