Snow has always been a long, bitter battle for Winterpeg.
On Tuesday, the city announced it will begin its residential plow on Wednesday night. It said it will take about 300 pieces of heavy equipment, and five 12-hour shifts to get the white stuff cleaned up.
For those like Debbi Ristimaki in Bridgwater, it’s about time. She said her street has yet to be touched.
“I think that’s a big part of our problem is we wait so long to clean everything up underneath. It’s just pure ice. So then they send in the big equipment. They have to break it all up. What do they do? They break the curbs with it,” she said.
“From my layperson perspective, clearing out more often means there’s less work when it actually freezes, because the ice won’t be there.”
Ristimaki said the amount of snow accumulating is also of concern — and given the way her street looks this year, she is concerned about the city’s recently proposed pilot project, which would delay plowing until at least 15 cm has been accumulated starting October 2025.
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The current minimum is 10 cm.
“That might be when they start. Who knows how long it’s going to take before they get to the smaller roads and like, you know, these residential roads,” Ristimaki said.
Teresa Cwik, president of the South St. Boniface Resident’s Association shares similar concerns.
“The snow piles up and the corners get very blown in and you can’t take the corners. Like if you go to stop at a stop sign, you can’t, you have to just keep on going. So someone’s going to have an accident,” Cwik said.
She wants to see the city invest in what already exists, like snow removal, versus new projects.
“It’s like if you don’t have money and you have your old car, you don’t go and buy a brand new car. You live with what you have right now,” she said. “They’re talking about cutting services. Cutting, when they’re going to want to clean the snow. I don’t think that’s a very good idea. I think it’s dangerous, in fact.”
When asked about the pilot project last week, Mayor Gillingham asserted it was just that: a pilot project.
“I want to be clear that we have not changed the service standard for snow clearing permanently,” he said.
Michael Cantor, street maintenance manager with the city, said it may not even make a huge difference.
“Even (Tuesday), when we are inspecting… it’s 10 (cm) plus, and many of the (weather) events are being plowed after we receive 20-plus cm,” he said.
But that’s a part of some Winnipegger’s concerns — that there will be no change.
“We need to weigh both sides of it. They need to and I don’t have the confidence that that’s being done,” said Ristimaki.
Cantor said time will tell.
“We’ll have to see. I think every winter is a bit different and depends on the events we get, and what we don’t get,” he said. “It’s very hard to estimate how much (money) is going to be saved, if anything, based on this pilot. But we’ll have to go through it and make some decisions based on it.”
In the meantime, the city asks those living on residential streets to be aware of when their area is being plowed, as there will be a parking ban in effect during those times. Vehicles parked in violation of that ban may get dinged $200.
If a street is missed, residents can report it after Dec. 21 at 7 a.m. by contacting 311, or filling out an online form.
More information on this can be found at winnipeg.ca/snow.
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‘Who knows how long:’ Winnipeggers concerned about city’s snow removal plans
