It’s a question that comes up every year in the fall: should the City of Estevan make changes to its snow removal policy and procedures?
After all, snow removal is an expensive proposition. A large scale snow event can cost the city over a hundred thousand dollars, by the time you factor in the cost of bringing in contractors and paying overtime to clear the snow.
All that snow can be gone from the roads in a few days if you pay people to work extra hours and you bring in extra help.
And it sure beats the alternative: roads that are impossible to navigate unless you have a pickup truck. If you drive a car, an SUV or a cross-over, your vehicle isn’t going anywhere for some time, and even once you’re able to drive, there will still be parts of the city you’ll want to avoid.
Snow removal is one of those expenses in which taxpayers will forgive the municipal government if it exceeds the budget, as long as people believe and see there is an adequate return on the expense.
If you skimp on spending money on snow clearing efforts, and you get hit with a couple of powerful snowstorms within seven to 10 days of each other (a situation that has occurred in this city on many occasion), and the roads are impassable, the public is going to be royally ticked off. And then you will have to spend the big bucks on snow clearing efforts.
Some of you might remember late 2002 and early 2003, when Estevan was hit hard by a snowstorm the week before Christmas, and then delayed making a decision. It only made the situation worse, and irritated local residents.
Thankfully, the days of situations like that are done.
Under the current system, there might be a few days in which it will be difficult to drive around those quieter residential roads that are classified as Priority 3, but eventually, the work will get done.
At the same time, people need to see a reason for the expense. If the city spends large sums of money on snow removal, and there isn’t a lot of work being done, or there isn’t work happening quickly, then they will be ticked off.
The city also has to exercise common sense. They can’t have a full-blown snow removal effort if Estevan receives two inches of snow. At that point, it needs to take care of the troublesome area, apply sand or salt where needed to take down the ice, but also let the motorists pack the snow down.
Fortunately, we haven’t seen instances in which the city has opted for an all-out snow clearing effort when a smaller project would do.
It’s also important for the city to take care of the sidewalks and pathways that are its responsibility. There are people who will be out walking, even when it’s -20 C outside, and the city just had six inches of snow. Some people don’t have a choice.
It’s also incumbent for home and business owners to clear the sidewalks that they’re responsible for. If they won’t or can’t, then the city should do it for them, and bill them accordingly.
So spend the money on snow removal, as long as it makes sense. Keep the streets passable so that people get to where they need to go.
And be smart. After all, snow removal is one of those things that if people aren’t happy about it, they’re going to let the city know.
