Transport group disappointed Kitchener has iced most of sidewalk snow clearing plan

Kitchener will not be testing sidewalk snow clearing to the degree it looked like the city would last week.

On Monday, council decided to go ahead with a scaled down version of the pilot project.

Instead of spending $750,000 on a five part plan, the city will instead spend $70,000 on the one year pilot project.

The plan calls for proactive bylaw enforcement from November to April, plus partnership grants to provide snow clearing for residents requiring assistance.

“…It looked like a pretty clear decision made the week before. Unfortunately, we've seen a number of councillors, effectively, flip-flop by voting to defer to reconsideration other options next year.” said Mike Boos, Executive Committee Member with the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group.

He's now not sure if council will be able to answer the questions it has.

“Are we going to get full bang for our buck by doing full clearing of sidewalks? By doing clearing on big snow events?…All we will be able to tell at this point is whether being a bit more proactive with our bylaw enforcement, whether that will help…We should get some answers, but certainly, you know, there is going to be lingering questions that the next council is going to have to answer.” Boos told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS.

“Personally, I think, there's evidence out there that shows, if a city actually puts priority into actually clearing the sidewalks…You actually see fewer slips and falls, fewer accidents and more people being able to walk and take public transit,” added Boos.