Saturday, December 16, 2006

Edmonton City Streets-don't be afraid to say something

I was SO unimpressed with my City yesterday. So muchso that I wrote them an email. The snow removers came thru our streets and moved all the snow from the road to right in front of our houses. There's no place for people to park and for those that have driven our streets before, you'll know that there's already not much space to drive. I'm putting the contents of my email to the City below, but wanted to encourage you all to remember that the governments are there to not only make thoughtful decisions for other, but listen to the voices of the peoples too. If you have something to say, don't be afraid to let your voice be heard.
(Ok, a bit corny in some ways...but I was pretty upset that we had to shovel snow for 2 hours just to park our car not in the middle of the street to get hit)
This is my email:

My husband and I came home yesterday from a 12 hour work day at our business to find both our parking spots in front of our home taken up by snow. Why is it that this snow has been pushed into the parking spots of the home owners? Where does the City expect those people to park? All the roads in our area are like this and in some places, there is barely (inches) enough room for other vehicles to drive by and get thru the roads. My husband and I spent 2 hours shovelling snow so that we could park our vehicles enough over as to not get hit by people driving by; and still there is at least a 3 foot gap from our vehicle to the curb that is occupied by snow. I phoned the City's 24 hour road number and was told that this snow will not be picked up and to shovel myself out. What does the City expect those with disabilities or health conditions to do? "Suck it up princess and shovel?" Our family moved to Edmonton just in the past year and a half after debating for a while between this city and Calgary. I'm aware that Edmonton is currently working ambitiously to promote and increase the growth of this City. There are a lot of great programs and initiatives coming from the City of Champions, however I find it hard to understand why a city in Alberta (with the weather the way it is) not planning ahead or learning from it's past to budget enough money in their budget to effectively and properly remove snow from their taxpayers' streets. This is unacceptable. If the City is entertaining the thought of continuing to raise it's taxes, and thinks that people will be drawn to move here, or for that matter, stay here - and be proud citizens and happy Edmontonians, they may be surprised. Please reply to this email and correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points. I would like to know the plans that Edmonton has for improving it's currently snow removal program.

Regards,
Victoria Hutchinson
Edmonton, Alberta

6 Comments:

Blogger Jan said...

Good for you, Victoria! You as a tax payer should expect that the city would use your money wisely, to benefit everyone, and not to create a inderance. I hope that you get a reply.

Sat Dec 16, 02:09:00 PM

 
Blogger Jan said...

that is supposed to say hinderance, by the way! oops!

Sat Dec 16, 02:10:00 PM

 
Blogger Karyn said...

I'd be interested in what and IF the city actually replies. In my experience with writing to the City of Edmonton, there was no reply.

A point of interest: You do not own the spot in front of your house - the City does. They can do whatever they want with the road and the sidewalk. ANYONE can park infront of your house, too. Because of this, they are under no obligation to remove the snow they pushed up onto your curb. Reality sucks.

Also: The snow budgets of large cities are retarded - they are always based on how much they spent the year before. Since there was no snow last year until March, the budget last year was probably low - which will dictate that this year's budget will also be low - regardless of the amount of snow we get.

All that being said, good on you for complaining to the people who are causing you grief! Writing letters is part of being a responsible citizen - even when we don't expect or get the results we'd like to get. Keep it up.

Sun Dec 17, 08:44:00 AM

 
Blogger Rob... said...

Good job Victoria. I was going to say what Mom said. Cities never budget enough for snow removal. It always blew my mind that we would get a bit of a dump of snow in November or December and you'd hear on the news how the city had already burst their budget for now removal. Anyway good luck in your fight with city hall.

Mon Dec 18, 07:34:00 AM

 
Blogger Mike and Tor said...

Thanks all. I'm not really expecting to receive a reply from the City. If I don't get a reply, I may follow up and say that I would like a reply, but I realize that they are probably receiving alot of feedback from the people of Edmonton on this (many people are not happy about it) and won't have the resources to reply back to everyone.
I was unaware until this incident that the City could do that. I knew the street and sidewalk was their property, but I figured that they couldn't do something like block you from your own property.
Reality does suck sometimes.

I never would have probably said anything before, but in the last couple of months, I've been making an effort to be more informed on what's going on around me. I now know the name of my local MP and a bit about him. What he stands for and a little about what's important to him. Working for the UofC in the capacity I have been has been helpful as well in expanding my knowledge of the political structure around us and what is going on (sometimes behind the scenes too.)
I think that it's important to at least be informed. How are we, as Christians, supposed to be a light to this world and make an effective impact if we are ignorant to the issues that are being dealt with in the world around us? Our effort in staying involved and supporting the "democratic" structure of gov't is important if we want it to continue to be democratic.
If I hear anything, I'll give you an update.
Take care and see you all (except Janice...sorry Jan!) soon! Yay, Christmas is only 7 sleeps away!

Mon Dec 18, 09:47:00 AM

 
Blogger Karyn said...

Well said, Tor.

Tue Dec 19, 08:15:00 AM

 

Post a Comment

<< Home