Fresh on the heels of Mother Nature's first real belt of winter this year, Londoners may have to brace for slower snow removal from city sidewalks. In a bid to wrestle down the city's approximately $7-million annual snow removal budget, city staff made a pitch to a city committee last night to save $200,000 by reducing sidewalk snow removal.
Dave Leckie, director of roads and transportation, told the environment and transportation committee the city has for years exceeded its own maintenance standards, established in 1990, by launching sidewalk plowing well before a storm deposits the benchmark eight centimetres of snow.
By delaying snow cleanup on sidewalks outside the downtown core -- owners are required to shovel them by a city bylaw -- Leckie said $200,000 a year could be saved.
"Make no mistake about it, this would be a reduction in the level of service," said city engineer Peter Steblin.
"But council has some difficult (budget) choices to make and we've tried to pull together a package where the level of reduction is defendable."
With the city facing its toughest budget in recent memory this year, coupled with a $2-million budget over-run on last year's snow removal costs thanks to a harsh winter, Steblin said the proposed savings are in response to a city council directive to cut costs.
Steblin said it's just one of several cost-cutting recommendations staff will bring in the coming weeks to cut a potential $2.5 million from a total environmental services budget of $50 million.
Councillors will vote on the recommendations during budget deliberations that begin next week.
Of the $7-million snow removal budget, less than $1 million is dedicated to sidewalk cleanup, he said.
Steblin stressed sidewalks still will be plowed once eight centimetres of snow falls, but not as swiftly as in the past, avoiding costly overtime.
Coun. Susan Eagle questioned whether the change in level of service could leave the city liable, particularly due to an aging population prone to slips.
City solicitor Geoff Belch said the city only would be liable if it were proven it was grossly negligent: "You're exceeding your own standards now (on sidewalk snow removal), so there's room to cut back and maintain the same legal protection."
Meanwhile, Leckie defended the city's response to Sunday night's heavy blast of winter, saying city plows were called out about 9 p.m. as soon as it was apparent the storm was going to dump more snow than expected.
More than 10 centimetres was dumped on London.
"This was the first storm of consequence this year and from our perspective, the service we provided was phenomenal," Leckie said.
Other than "a couple of glitches" when four to five pieces of rented plowing equipment broke down, city work crews responded promptly, he said.
"There were two or three pockets of subdivisions that were inadvertently missed, but (plow) operators went back and picked them up," Leckie said.
Area police reported a rash of snow-related accidents from the storm, but no fatalities.
A London woman suffered serious injuries in a two-vehicle collision at 7:30 a.m. yesterday on Elginfield Road near Valleyview Road in Thames Centre.
Andrea Myles, 18, was taken by air ambulance to London Health Sciences Centre after she was removed from her car by firefighters, Middlesex OPP said.
The other driver, Bruce Sparling, 49, of St. Marys, was treated and released from St. Marys Hospital.
In Lambton County, 13 vehicles slid off roads between 6 p.m. and midnight Sunday and there were several minor collisions.
In Elgin County, two people were seriously hurt when their vehicles collided on Belmont Road about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Leckie noted London is one of a growing number of cities using -- in addition to salt brine -- a chemical comprised mainly of magnesium chloride that's sprayed on bridge decks and other areas that freeze up quickly.
But he said the chemical is too costly to totally replace road salt.
