With the snowfall on Tuesday and likely continuing Wednesday, snow removal is bound to come up in the conversation again.
People don’t have to look very far to see why a lot of people tend to complain about snow removal. When it’s there, it makes roads slippery and has the potential to block people indoors.
In fact, during Monday’s regular council meeting, when the 2013 budget estimates were presented, Coun. Don Mitchell said he’d heard people say they would be willing to pay more for better snow removal. Other people have stated there should be a bylaw forcing people to shovel public sidewalks in front of their homes when it snows.
Of course it would be ideal to not need to have a bylaw for people to shovel snow. It would be far friendlier in the Friendly City for neighbours to volunteer to do it. That would showcase the giving spirit of many people. Even when it’s not Christmastime, volunteering to shovel public sidewalks would be much appreciated by everyone.
The city does deserve some credit. It has been working hard with short staffing to do the best it can to clear the roads. It’s not perfect and it certainly needs improvements.
But if everyone who is able chips in to do their part in shovelling snow on sidewalks or in front of public property, we’re doing a lot more than making everyone else’s jobs easier. We’re even doing a lot more than making our sidewalks safer. We’re showing our giving spirit and living up to the slogan of the Friendly City.
So instead of spending all of your energy complaining about the conditions of the city, that energy is far better spent doing something about it to make the community healthier, more efficient and just better for everyone in it, including visitors and newcomers.
All Times-Herald editorials are written by the editorial staff.
