To the Editor:
As I drive to work this Monday morning, I can’t help but notice the abundance of private business that are cleared of snow already – the Giant Tiger parking lot, R.D. Parker Collegiate, Fas Gas, The Plaza, Shoppers, the Professional Building, Hydro, the social work building, almost all of them on my way to work – yet the streets are a disaster. Why? How many trained heavy equipment operators are there employed with public works? How many working graders, loaders and dump trucks does the city own?
I ask this as the city is still a mess from the first snowfall and with this current snow event the city is a disaster. Why is there not any snow clearing being done on nights or weekends, especially when there are snow events? Why is staff not put on overtime? Why has sub-contracting snow clearing out to private companies not happened?
Public works clearly does not have the capacity to deal with keeping our streets clear and safe. Please don’t tell me it’s about money! We pay some of the highest property taxes in Canada with the least amount of services and this issue should be addressed and managed more efficiently.
Monique Braconnier-Sewell
Thompson
