After two low pressure systems hit the Maritimes last weekend, parts of HRM still have major cleanup to do.
Many business owners are taking the cleanup into their own hands, making sure it’s safe for their customers.
“This is hard,” said Hussain Hajawe, manager at the Hub General Store. “Even I fell somewhere and hurt my shoulder, but I have to do it.”
Sidewalks and streets throughout HRM are still snow-covered and slippery, making them impassable for some.
Monica Munguia was walking with her baby stroller. She agrees that sidewalks need better clearing, and faster.
“I got stuck back there on the corner of South Park and Spring Garden,” said Monica Munguia. “We got stuck because there was ice. So I had to pull it from the front and lift it a little bit.”
For people with limited mobility, some sidewalks are completely unusable.
“For that matter, an elite level athlete can go down just as hard and have their knee torn out just the same,” said citizen disability advocate, Paul Vienneau.
The municipality works with contractors to clear the snow, and they are supposed to have the sidewalks cleared about 48 hours after the storm. It is now one week after two winter storms hit the region, and there is still plenty of cleanup to be done.
Vienneau said situations like this, can really put his life on hold.
“Basically what we’re telling one group of people is ‘after the snow, you can’t reliably or safely go to work, or go on a date, or go buy groceries for this amount of time, while everyone else gets to clamber over the big pile of snow,’” said Vienneau.
Councilor Waye Mason made a tweet earlier this week saying he hopes to bring a motion to council in April that will change the time contractors have to clear the snow. He also said it may be time to look at residents clearing their own sidewalks again.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Emily Baron-Cadloff
