Grading crews snowed under with abuse from residents
Red Deer Public Works grading crews and frontline staff are facing worsening verbal abuse as they deal with residents unhappy about the city’s decision to pile snow on one side of residential streets.
Red Deer city roads superintendent Jim Chase said staff is being unfairly targeted for the work that must be done to clear streets of large frozen ruts.
“We get a lot of complaints to our administrative staff — where people are very, very upset and are yelling and screaming,” Chase said on Thursday.
“They’re being abusive a lot of the times, regarding this windrow that we’ve placed in front of their house.”
And crews are also feeling the wrath from residents who emerge from their residences to complain.
“In the past, people have climbed up on graders and banged on windows or have thrown coffee cups at the graders,” Chase said.
Recently, someone threw a coffee cup at a grader so these types of incidents aren’t unique. Chase didn’t know if there was any coffee inside.
“It’s very stressful — even though they are getting abused, they are not allowed to get abusive back,” Chase said. “They have to put up with it.”
At the end of a 10-hour shift, the equipment operators will return to the office stressed out from what they’ve had to put up with from residents.
Chase said complaints are typical when the city makes windrows but he figures this year more people are complaining.
“It’s possible because we’ve had more snow, the windrows are bigger,” he said.
Vic Walls, general manager of Border Paving, which is contracted to help with snow clearing, said his grading staff are experiencing the same kind of story as in the past when windrows have been made.
“People on the side of the street where there is no snow piled are ecstatic and the people on the side that has the snow piled on it aren’t very happy,” Walls said. “You can’t please everybody.”
Chase emphasized snow removal crews are following city policy.
“When residential streets get impassable for emergency vehicles . . . then we will plow a windrow,” Chase said. “Some people are saying that it’s not that bad, but if we don’t do it now, it will happen in the spring where (the snow) will get too soft and it will get rutted. We’re taking a pro-active approach.”
Since mid-January, crews have been clearing all residential streets, a practice that hasn’t been done since the 2006-2007 season.
To try and be fair, crews are tasked to make windrows along even-numbered addresses one year, odd the next time.
This year, it’s along odd-numbered addresses.
When these high snowbanks are made, it prevents people from parking in front of their residence.
Chase said the city isn’t obligated to provide on-street parking.
According to the land-use bylaw, residences are required to have two parking stalls off-street, whether it’s in the front or the back. A number of building owners don’t provide that and that’s where the problem lies, Chase said.
He expects snow clearing will continue for another week and a half.
Despite the number of complaints, all streets will be done, Chase said.
The cost of doing this job is expected to be around a $500,000.
Chase estimates the bill would run another $800,000 if the snow was hauled away, which would take a huge chunk out of this year’s snow removal budget of $2,185,000.
If the city was to do both snow clearing and the hauling, it would translate into a one-per-cent municipal property tax increase, Chase said.
ltester@reddeeradvocate.com
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