After one of his young daughters hurt herself on an icy trail in St. Albert, Lacombe Park resident David Walker believes the city’s current policy around clearing walking paths is causing more harm than good.
Walker has been a member of the community for more than three decades. A normal routine for him and his family is taking the Red Willow Trail system to school or to the outdoor hockey rink. The problem for the family has been the fluctuating temperatures that melt the snow and then freeze the leftover slush and water overnight.
This has led to paths being icy.
Walker said the current policy of clearing the paths after a snowfall isn’t making the situation any safer.
“I just thought they could leave the paths alone and just let people who walk the path walk the paths down,” he said. “All the paths that go diagonally across the field and stuff like that — even in the freeze-thaw that we’re experiencing — were very passable. You could put your kids on a toboggan and drag them along quite easily. Everything (along) Red Willow was just treacherous.”
He said he found it funny that people were avoiding city-maintained paths in favour of walking along trails made in the snow.
Walker did reach out to the city and members of council about the path clearing issue but said so far, nothing has come of it. He said the head of the city’s snow clearing department told him they had to follow the city's bylaws and policies.
Any changes to those rules would have to be made at the city council level.
Walker suggested a trial period be put in place to not clear the paths and whatever the outcome may be, he said he would accept it.
“I’ll eat crow and be quiet about it,” he added. “It seems like once you are dealing with city employees and departments, they are just following their policies.”
Coun. Natalie Joly said she's not an expert on snow removal but would be interested in anything that would keep residents safe and active.
Coun. Wes Brodhead, on the other hand, wasn't too sure about Walker's idea. He said when it comes to weather events like freezing rain – which St. Albert has seen a lot of this winter – there's not much anyone can do. He suggested more residents would rather see the trails groomed than have snow piling up.
"It all depends on the weather conditions as to how slippery it will be," he added.
"If you don't groom it, what you have is compacted footsteps, which over time may turn into a reasonable landing ground for your feet. But in the meantime, without it being groomed, now you are into a rolling your ankle kind of situation if it freezes and you have all sorts of bumps and stuff like that. I think in the overall scheme of things, if you were to ask the experts, there would be more people who would ask for it to be groomed."
He added residents should take care and wear proper footwear during the winter.
While Walker won’t be bringing anything forward to the first council meeting of 2019 on Monday, he does plan to do so in the future, whether that be suggesting the trial option or simply having the city review its policies.
“When I’m out there with my ice chipper and I’m clearing the ice off behind my house, it is just frustrating,” he said. “Especially — after sighting one of the previous Gazette reports — we in St. Albert pay one of the highest property taxes (in the province).”
According to the city’s website, the public works department’s priority for winter maintenance for sidewalks and trails is to keep them safe and clear of hazards caused by snow and ice. The goal is to make them accessible year-round. Crews go out following a snowfall of one to five centimetres to sand and plow. The Red Willow Trail system is considered a number one priority for the city for winter maintenance.
The trail system stretches across more than 94 kilometres.
