Month: September 2020

Audio version of the post: https://vocaroo.com/embed/191w23bxzbz7
View on Vocaroo >>.

When I first read City Staff’s recommendation on sidewalk snow clearing, I thought I must have misunderstood. I read it again more carefully and realized I had not. They looked at six different options for improving service and then made the recommendation to do absolutely nothing. In their words:

“that Council maintain the status quo. Given future anticipated budget challenges, enhancing the level of service for sidewalks is not recommended. The minimal cost option to produce a noticeable difference to residents is 700k per year which is not budgeted.”

You can see the full document prepared by staff and the details of the options on pp. 15-19 at this link.

In response, Councillor Ian Froude told council that he had heard from people with disabilities and from the Human Rights Commission about people’s experiences in winter and that “those things weigh on me heavily.” He commented that access and accessibility are human rights and also noted that the comparison cities in the KPMG Report (commissioned by the City in 2014) spend more per kilometre, despite less challenging conditions in some cases. He introduced a motion not to follow the staff recommendation but instead to make significant changes based on some of the options staff proposed and then rejected. After discussion, the single motion was broken down into three separate ones, which I summarize here with the vote results in brackets:

The first motion had four bullet points:

• Staff to review priorities/efficiencies and put forward a plan
• Address quality of clearing
• Enforce existing by-laws re not blocking sidewalks, etc. (It was noted that this would be a “quick fix.”)
• Re-prioritize and free up resources and funds from side roads to sidewalks (Carried)

The second motion was that during budgeting for winter 2021/2022, the City would consider implementing Option 6 from the staff recommendations–confusing, I know. They presented six different options for things that could be done, with the sixth one being the most expansive and expensive ($800,000 capital, $450,000 operating) but then recommended not doing any of them. After discussion, this motion was modified to considering all six options during the budget process next summer. (Carried)

The third motion was that for the coming winter, options 2 and 4 would be implemented. These combined options would have cost less than option 6 but still made a significant difference in the quality of sidewalk snow clearing. (Defeated) (Note that, as shown in the screenshot at the beginning of this post, this motion was supported by Councillors Froude and Burton and Deputy Mayor O’Leary.)

To backtrack and give some context, the meeting began with a presentation by Dr. Dan Fuller, Canada Research Chair in Population Physical Activity, about the BEAP Lab research that found fourfold economic returns on $3 million annual investment over ten years, using a model based specifically on St. John’s. He also highlighted health benefits and noted that currently only about 4% of our citizens walk (this includes just walking to the bus stop) and recommended that we set a target. Some cities have 10-12% as a target. (See Asia Holloway’s report on this research at this link.) Council seemed very supportive of the idea that walkability is important. Sample comments:

Creating density and walkability is “good for business development,” “good for the city and good for the population.”

Mayor Breen

“To attract people we have to make the city more walkable and more accessible.”

Councillor Hanlon

In winter, crosswalks, intersections and bus stops “need to be clear with open spaces for access.”

Councillor Hickman

Yet they all voted against increasing the budget, as did Councillor Stapleton, who is Team Lead for Inclusion. Other councillors who voted against also seemed supportive during the discussion. Councillor Lane noted how fundamental mobility is and that “a pedestrian friendly city can help solve a lot of problems.” He recommended that the city “shift funds from mechanized access on side roads to better pedestrian access” (this was one of the bullet points in the first motion, which was carried.) He also emphasized that we should follow the recommendations of the KPMG Report. Councillor Korab asked “Do we need to increase the budget for sidewalk snow clearing?” and answered his own question: “In all likelihood, yes.” He said that he was “open to an increase.” Councillor Collins added, “It would be fairer to do all the sidewalks in the city.” Yes, he did actually say this, though I’m not sure he truly thought that was a realistic option. I think his point was that the downtown gets better clearing than elsewhere in his opinion. However, four of the five comparison cities in the KPMG Report actually do clear all their sidewalks and the fifth does 62%. St. John’s does 23%. All five comparison cities also start clearing sooner and have higher standards in general.

A few other things to note about the discussion and vote: Councillor Burton and Deputy Mayor O’Leary spoke strongly in favour of increasing the budget, with Councillor Burton emphasizing that, “Active transportation is a must have, not a choice or a nice to have.” She also mentioned that people without access to cars currently endure injuries, loss of opportunities and income, and inability to access transit. Clearing snow for pedestrian access has been severely underfunded for many, many years. The City currently has a surplus of $22 million and this was achieved in some part at the expense of pedestrians. Some have lost their lives or become severely disabled because of it. There was also an important exchange between Deputy Mayor O’Leary and Councillor Froude about the need to find ways to work more effectively with the province, since the cost of snow clearing is borne by the city but the savings in health care would come to the province. I plan to write a future post about the role of the province in this. Meanwhile, though, the City does have a mandate for sustainability and healthy communities.

One final quote from the mayor, with reference to the successful motion that some funding for clearing side streets be shifted to sidewalks and the failed motion to increase the budget this year:

“It may end up that that amount gets spent.”

So… we must hold them to their commitments in the first motion and make sure that “that amount of money gets spent.” I also challenge the Mayor and councillors (or anyone else who doesn’t think sidewalks are important) to travel everywhere on foot and public transit for a week after a major storm and then report back to the public on their experiences. Even better, do it with a baby in a stroller and another small child by the hand.

After a brief summer during which many of us enjoyed the downtown pedestrian mall and all the beautiful hiking trails, we are already back to fighting City Hall for basic justice and accessibility in the winter. Here is my letter to City Council about the staff recommendation on sidewalk snow clearing for the coming winter:

City Councillor Maggie Burton recently asked for comments on social media about the value of evidence based decision making. If there has ever been an issue in the City of St. John’s with compelling evidence to support changes, it is sidewalk snow clearing. There have been numerous surveys, studies, public engagements, media reports, discussions, petitions, protests and consultations. All of them have essentially said the same thing: the situation is dire. It is unjust, unhealthy and dangerous. Most of them have also made specific, clear and detailed recommendations about what we need to do to change this.

In 2015, Dr. Sharon Roseman and I presented the results of our ethnographic research on sidewalk snow clearing in St. John’s. At the invitation of Mayor Danny Breen, we showed our film, Honk If You Want Me Off The Road, to staff and councillors at City Hall. Our research showed that the lack of adequate sidewalk snow clearing had a very serious negative impact on peoples’ mental and physical health for up to half the year with ramifications for the rest of the year as they tried to recover and build up strength for the next ordeal. Our research also showed that this impact was largely on the most vulnerable people: children and young adults, single parents, people with disabilities, seniors, new Canadians and people with low incomes. There is an assumption that people choose to walk. On the contrary, people choose to drive. Most of those who walk have no choice.

More recently, just a few weeks ago, Dr. Daniel Fuller and the BEAP lab presented the findings of a larger scale quantitative study, also locally focussed and specific to St. John’s. Their research revealed that investments in walking would have major health and economic benefits. For example, if we invested $3 million annually over a 10-year period, the economic benefits would outweigh the costs fourfold. This investment would also prevent premature deaths and improve many health conditions. If there is one single thing we can do to make this happen, it is to make the city safely walkable and accessible year round through proper snow clearing of sidewalks, intersections and bus stops.

In the City’s most recent public survey, 92% of citizens and businesses supported prioritizing winter walkability and large majorities also supported investing more resources in sidewalk snow clearing. The survey found that more than half of respondents have to limit their activities because of inadequate sidewalk snow clearing and almost three quarters have been forced to risk their lives in the vehicle lanes. The condition of priority sidewalks was rated 3.6 out of 10 on average with post-secondary students (a group that is most affected) rating it 2.99. These are failing grades. 67% of citizens would agree to at least a small tax increase to improve these conditions with a further 17% being willing to consider it. Very substantial minorities also supported much higher increases.

The staff recommendation to be discussed at COTW is to change nothing. The same old excuses are given. I don’t need to list them. You all know them. “There is nowhere else like St. John’s.” Yet the City’s own commissioned report on snow clearing services in 2014 found five cities that faced similar challenges. Of those five, all but one cleared all or virtually all their sidewalks. That one (Saguenay) cleared 62%. St. John’s cleared 19% and now, six years later, clears about 23%. All of the comparison cities also started clearing earlier, removing snow during storms as well as after. Much of the limited clearing that is done in St. John’s is still useless because of lack of regularity, connectivity, ice control and coordination with street plows. The report had recommendations on how to deal with these problems but many have not been followed.

Last year, my colleague, John Shirokoff was killed because there was no cleared sidewalk on a major street in St. John’s with many pedestrians. Numerous others were injured, some with life altering consequences. Children cannot walk safely to school, a greater concern this year than ever with the challenges of Covid-19. People who do not drive cannot get safely to work, to the grocery store, to the doctor, to religious services, to visit friends and family. They become isolated, angry and depressed. We know this. And we know it does not have to be this way.

How much more evidence do you need?

Elizabeth Yeoman