Bill Tuchak, one of the residents who attended Thursday night’s budget town hall forum, demanded of Mayor Nolan Crouse to know what exceptional services St. Albertans received in exchange for high property taxes. Apparently he and those who applauded his line of questioning didn’t bother to look around on Wednesday or Thursday.
Perhaps the most critical service St. Albertans receive over the winter moved into full force Wednesday as 35 centimetres of snow fell on the city, four centimetres short of a city record for snowfall in a day. The public works department had its plows and graders out and working, fully staffed, clearing St. Albert’s major roads so individuals who had to get to work or drop their kids at school could do so safely. The city even went so far as to call in private contractors to make sure every arterial road was cleared as quickly as possible.
Already the arterial roads are clear. Our collector roads have been plowed and, starting Sunday, will be graded. Once they are finished, the city will decide on whether or not to start residential snow removal.
Residential street clearing is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking, something the city only does once a year unless circumstances warrant otherwise. But there are many communities in Alberta where residential snow clearing isn’t even contemplated and taxpayers are forced to instead plow their vehicles through snow.
It would be interesting to cut back on snow removal in favour of lower taxes and see what residents think when arterials take a few days to clear and collectors even longer, or potentially not at all. Two years ago outrage over the slow pace of snow clearing forced Mayor Stephen Mandel to issue a public apology to Edmonton’s citizens with a pledge to improve. It’s a problem St. Albert doesn’t have to face.
In fact, no one at Thursday’s budget town hall forum said anything about snow removal, either in criticism or in support. Apparently our snow removal service is unremarkable to most.
But even in places where the plows hadn’t yet been or on residential streets, residents were out in force to help people who needed it. On more than one driveway one could see several adults shovelling madly in a co-ordinated effort to help. When some vehicles became stuck on snow-choked roads, a nearby car or business would suddenly empty with people rushing out to help. There were many people who helped more than one car or shovelled more than one driveway, as if to lend a hand was just as unremarkable.
It’s easy to overlook examples of “exceptional service” when they become routine, whether it’s something we pay for with our taxes or something we might choose instead to simply pay forward.
