I recently had occasion to walk from my home on Bridge Street West to the downtown and later back home. I travelled on Bridge, Dundas, and Thomas streets – which are major arteries in the urban portion of Greater Napanee.
The condition of the sidewalks was inexcusable; in places there were sheets of ice, in others frozen snow to a height of 20-30 cm making safe passage a major issue. It isn’t a safe or reasonable alternative to try walking on the street instead.
The town has purchased two expensive sidewalk plows in the past couple of years. They don’t seem to be very effective. Before these plows were bought homeowners took it upon themselves to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes. This was done voluntarily as the sidewalks are on Town property. This didn’t seem to be very satisfactory either.
I suggest council undertake a 20-30 minute fact- finding mission and walk (or attempt to) on several sidewalks. This should be very instructive; and would hopefully lead to some concrete corrective measures being undertaken.
I am surprised there haven’t been any significant injuries sustained by pedestrians.
I’m sure this is an issue in other municipalities; what have they tried to do in order to deal with the problem? Let your councillor know about your concerns if this letter resonates with you. We deserve better.
Keith Chapman
Napanee