Following Wednesday night’s winter storm warning for the Eastern Fraser Valley and nearly 20-30 centimetres of snow forecast before the storm passes, questions about snow removal resurfaced amongst Agassiz residents.
The District of Kent prioritizes snow removal along emergency routes and main roads, and the proposed adoption of amended bylaw 1591 will see the District responsible for snow clearing along Highway 9 between McDonald Road and the Petro Canada, according to Mayor John Van Laerhoven.
“That doesn’t mean that the District will be out making those sidewalks clear as soon as the bylaw is adopted,” he said. “We still have a priority for emergency vehicles that need to get by on the main roads and secondly, we need to be able to get the milk off the farms.”
“It’s something that the District would get to taking care of when there’s an opportunity to.”
Roads may be a priority for the District, but for locals who get around on foot, the condition of sidewalks in town is an issue. The District is responsible for clearing snow off sidewalks that border District-owned properties, as well as dropdowns on crosswalks.
That leaves snow removal on most of Agassiz’s sidewalks up to individual property owners.
“The District can only do so much,” Van Laerhoven said. “So the District realizes that for individuals, keeping their sidewalk clear in front of their property…[they] can only do so much as well.”
Enforcing snow clearing is done on a complaint basis, the mayor explains. After a complaint is made to the District, bylaw enforcement officer Paul Drescher will investigate the complaint and take action based on what he finds.
“In all my time I’ve been with the District, I can’t remember a time that somebody was actually fined for not cleaning their sidewalks,” Van Laerhoven said, adding that the bylaw officer will consider the circumstances and usually offer a “friendly reminder” to clear property.
But with a majority of Kent residents between the ages of 50 and 80 years old, not all residents are physically able to shovel snow.
Van Laerhoven said the District takes that into account when enforcing the bylaw.
“There are quite a number of people who are elderly…or physically not able to do it,” he said. “The District knows how difficult it is, particularly along the highways where there is a lot of snow plowing going on.”
In previous years of heavy snow, Snow Angel groups often made their way around Agassiz to help out seniors, but no such group currently exists, with the exception of helpful neighbours and posts made online, seniors and mobility-challenged individuals are at the mercy of the weather.