Chance to ‘reset’ snow clearing priorities in Cambridge

After a second consecutive year of above-average snowfall, issues with snow clearing have become more prevalent.

There have been plenty of reports of residents displeased with the speed and quality of the snow clearing around the region, while the municipalities were simply trying to keep up.

A recent story caught the attention of Cambridge Ward 3 Councillor Corey Kimpson.

She read about Devin Sisak, the founder of Barrier-Free Cambridge, who had taken it upon himself to shovel out accessible parking spots in municipal lots that were clogged with ice and snow. He took matters into his own hands after frequently running into the problem with his son, who uses a wheelchair.

Kimpson wondered if the problem was as bad as it seemed and went out to see for herself. She was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show and said she took pictures of what she found.

“I’m pleased to say that after I went on my little tour, I took these pictures and I sent them to staff. I received a response very quickly that it would be taken care of. Within a short period of time, I was out walking and saw that there was a contractor working to clear one of the spots, and they have all been sufficiently cleared.”

The question remains: how did it come to this point?

“If you’re not somebody who needs an accessible spot, if you’re someone who can get out of their vehicle and step over the ice and walk where you need to go, while it may be inconvenient, you can still do it. I think we just forget that this is not a nice ‘to have’ it’s something that absolutely needs to be done,” said Kimpson. She also wondered if perhaps there was a lack of communication with the private contractors who were hired to assist with snow-clearing efforts.

She went on to say that this is an opportunity for the city to make changes and get this right.

“I think we have to reset and put this back on our radar, and make it on the top of our radar as something that absolutely needs to be done as a priority. And then, we have to go back and make sure it’s maintained.”

Kimpson said this is a chance to ensure this priority is properly communicated with city staff and any independent contractors.

She hopes that in the future it won’t take a reminder from a city councillor to ensure the job is done correctly.