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Letter: Boosting winter sidewalk maintenance made a real difference

Naomi Grant, a member of Greater Sudbury Safer Sidewalks, highlights the impact of a local pilot program to boost winter sidewalk maintenance 
Letter to the Editor
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From Pexels by Neosiam

Fall is here, and in a handful of weeks, we may have snowy sidewalks once again. My weekly walk for groceries has been easier the past two winters because of a pilot project improving the clearing of our winter sidewalks. 

Instead of balancing on snow banks on the edges of busy roads or wading through ice slush trying to keep my footing, I have been able to walk on the sidewalks.

On Sept. 15, City Council’s Operations Committee will vote on whether to continue the pilot project this coming winter, and whether to ask for a business case for the 2026-2027 budget. Voting on that business case would give them the chance to make it a permanent improvement.  I sincerely hope they do. It will make a real difference to my daily life, and the lives of so many other residents.

I am a member of Greater Sudbury Safer Sidewalks. Since 2020, we have been bringing forward the stories, experiences and challenges faced by community members using sidewalks in winter. Nobody could fail to be moved by the accounts of residents all over Greater Sudbury whose safety, health, opportunities and mobility were severely curtailed by winter sidewalk conditions. 

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The improved winter sidewalk maintenance pilot project the City of Greater Sudbury conducted over the past two winters has made a real difference, letter writer Naomi Grant says. This image shows the same stretch of sidewalk Grant walks regularly before and after the pilot project began. Composite image: Naomi Grant

The pilot project was the result of those many human stories and the support of council and city staff. 

I was one of 90 people who documented winter sidewalk conditions this past winter, to see the difference the pilot project made. And since I am a bit of a data nerd with a science background, I also crunched the numbers which showed that that difference was real, that is to say statistically significant. 

(Editor’s note: To read the report Naomi Grant compiled based on the data gathered last winter, click here. To read the city staff report on the winter sidewalk maintenance pilot program, click here.)

There are more improvements to be made of course, especially for residents using a mobility device or pushing a stroller. But the pilot project was a real step forward. Let’s make it the way we do things, and keep going. The numbers tell us it’s making a difference. And the people using the sidewalks do, too. 

If you’d like council to support continuing safer winter sidewalks, give your ward councillor a call and come out to see the vote, Monday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. in Council Chambers at Tom Davies Square.

Naomi Grant
Sudbury