Photo caption: Although the snow may be melting, the issue of sidewalk snow removal continues to be a topic for the Comité consultatif d’urbanisme.

Photo credit: Taylor Clark

Under the Ville de Gatineau’s current snow removal policy or “viabilité hivernale” as dubbed by the city, around 20 kilometres of sidewalk has been dropped from routes.

“I am convinced that there will be some that we will bring back, but we will not bring them all back. It will be up to each elected official to look at their territory,” Masson-Angers district councillor and president of the Comité consultatif d’urbanisme Mario Aubé told journalists on February 7.

While the new policy saw the clearing of an additional 30 kilometres of sidewalks and paths this winter, it also left several abandoned, including six kilometres in centre-ville.

Aubé said the changes were to create equity throughout the whole city. “When I talk about my area (Masson-Angers) or we talk about Aylmer, people have the right to walk on their sidewalks.”

He pointed the blame to the former policy “that dates back almost to the merger” which created a disparity across the city over the years. Sidewalks and paths were plowed that Aubé said theoretically should not have been cleared.

“When we had the new flowchart to calculate, to actually review what we were doing, there were places that, unfortunately, perhaps went under the radar because we hadn’t necessarily seen it. The new flowchart will put everyone on an equal footing,” said Aubé. “The administration is looking to see if there can be rapid changes in the short term … Otherwise, it will be for next season.”

Mayor of Gatineau France Bélisle added that snow removal from sidewalks has improved. “I understand that there have been problems, but we are changing policy; we are continuously improving. And when we can adjust, we will do it.”

All elected officials were invited to ask the administration to check certain places in their sectors that are currently under review.

“Any new policy that we put in place or change, we must give ourselves time to see how it fits, how it adjusts. Then, once we have that, we can proceed with adjustments that need to be made.”