Trois-Rivières elected officials had to vote Tuesday night to approve a new “winterization” policy, prompting discussions about snow removal from sidewalks.

This is because this winter the number of kilometers of pavement plowed will decrease. The city plans to plow 52 fewer kilometers of sidewalks, or 225 kilometers instead of 277. That’s a 19% reduction.

Three elected officials voted against the new policy, which specifically mentions snow removal goals on sidewalks. City councilors Pascale Albernhe-Lahaie, Richard W. Dober and Dany Carpentier opposed the policy; They say they want to better investigate the places to be cleared of snow and the stated targets.

Personally I don’t agree with what I’ve seen regarding street choice, I find it completely unacceptable.

La-Vérendry district councilor Dany Carpentier believes the policy could be improved. We’re due to really sit down […] The citizen is at the heart of our decisions, and for me that means when we make a decision like a winter policy, making sure that we are not all the same in the face of winter, because we don’t all have the same thing, for example, when it comes to traveling in winter, we can, among other things, think about the people most at riskhe said.

The map of snow-cleared areas is not yet ready, but the city is ensuring that sidewalks near hospitals, schools and commercial streets continue to be a priority.

Mayor Jean Lamarche reiterates that this policy was the case a starting point and that the discussion is certainly not over yet.

I don’t think anyone claims to say that this policy is perfect, but I think so […] that it is a starting point. This will enable us to go even furtherexplained the mayor of Trois-Rivières, Jean Lamarche.

For his part, local councilor Pierre Montreuil confirmed the importance of an autopsy in late winter to evaluate this new approach, but voted in favor of the policy.

Clear less snow, but better?

According to Alain Lizotte, the director of public works for Trois-Rivières, it is unrealistic to want to clear all pedestrian areas of snow at all times. So, he explained in the preparation meeting, it’s about clearing less snow, but doing it better. This involves leaving more snow on the ground before it is collected, which, among other things, limits the number of trips snow clearing teams make.

The city also wants to better maintain the areas to be de-snowed with more blasting media and snow melting equipment.

Additionally, fines for failure by property owners or renters to clear snow on public streets have been doubled from $100 to $200.

With information from Eugénie Larente and the interview conducted on the show Always in the morning