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When winter strikes, outdoor workers face treacherous conditions

It’s not the bitter cold that Kelly Beauchamp fears It’s winter hazards such as snow piles and icy sidewalks that make her shiver.
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Wednesday’s warming weather made it easier for Jodie Elliott to yet again shovel the double sidewalk outside her home on Irwin Avenue.

It’s not the bitter cold that Kelly Beauchamp fears It’s winter hazards such as snow piles and icy sidewalks that make her shiver.

Beauchamp, a Red Deer letter carrier for Canada Post, said large quantities of snow always add time and potential for injury to the job.

“We can dress for the cold but there’s nothing you can do about the snow that’s in the way,” she said.

“When we get a big dump of snow, you just know that you’re in for a long, tiring day. There will be lots of walks that haven’t been shovelled.”

Beauchamp can spend up to five hours trudging through snow to make it to all 400 of her delivery points after large snowfalls.

There’s also the risk of tripping or falling when sidewalks haven’t been cleared because the snow covers uneven ground, cables and ice.

She laughed when asked if she has ever fallen on the job during the winter months.

“Oh, heavens yes. I don’t think anybody hasn’t.”

Beauchamp has never suffered anything worse than a limp that she was able to walk off after falling.

Other letter carriers have not been so fortunate. Some of Beauchamp’s colleagues have suffered sprains, broken bones and even torn ligaments.

Unfortunately, relief from the cold does not equate to relief from the elements.

Rising daytime temperatures just melt snow that then freezes in the evening, Beauchamp said.

And while she wears cleats to improve her chances of staying upright on the ice, there’s only so much that the footwear can do.

That’s why Beauchamp praised those who continually shovel their sidewalks and urged others to follow their lead.

“Think about the other people that are using the sidewalk,” she said. “And shovel. It’s easier to do it often and sooner than when it gets hard and packed down. It will only take you half an hour to shovel out but we have to push through it for hours.”

Shovelling, sanding, fixing leaky eaves that produce puddles that freeze, not painting wooden steps and putting skid treads on slippery stairs were suggestions Beauchamp had as ways to improve the safety of all those out walking in the winter.

Putting salt on snow, however, is something she urged people not to do as it will only melt the snow to a mushy point that resembles walking on sand.

“Salt is for ice,” she said.

Not shovelling your sidewalks can also lead to an inaccurate electric bill.

Chris Kanten, manager of Dataco Utilities Services, said his meter readers have had to skip three times more homes than they normally do because they can’t access the yards.

“Right now, our biggest issue is with gates buried in the snow, so we’re not able to access a lot of yards,” he said.

Kanten has to go out to all the residences that are skipped over and said his top priority is to urge everyone to at least shovel the snow away from gates so that they can be opened.

Bills are based on an estimate when meters cannot be read and any overcharging or undercharging is made up in the following bill.

“People of course prefer actual reads,” Kanten said. “They don’t understand what our meter readers actually, physically have to go through to get access in the winter time.”

Staff will sometime use binoculars from the alley to read a meter when they can’t get into a yard. Shoulder-height snowdrifts, however, are covering up some of these meters, he added. They are currently working their way through Anders Park and the Lancaster neighbourhoods.

There are also safety concerns, such as ice and other hazards hidden by the snow.

Kanten said some staff have been injured as a result of falling in the winter in previous years but none have been hurt so far this season.

ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com