Original post 2023/01/25

Dear Councillor Robinson, Mayor Tory, and 311,

We have been living here for almost 10 years now. We have been through many snow storms in that time. The most memorable was a couple of years ago when even TTC buses were abandoned. It took a solid week to clear the snow with crews working overnight.

The snow removal on the sidewalk last night was the worst that I’d ever experienced. I don’t know if they brought the wrong equipment or didn’t have enough equipment. The plow would travel along the sidewalk and stop, lift the blade, drive on, and start plowing again further down the road. Usually, but not always, the stop was in front of an electrical pole.
Because we had so much snow yesterday, these breaks in plowing resulted in large berms of snow on the sidewalk. The combination of these berms and tire tracks resulted in a formidable obstacle course on the sidewalk. This morning, my daughter and I were walking on Lawrence Avenue East. Each time we had to clamber over one of these berms, we yelled, “Parkour!”

Walking would have been easier if no plowing occurred. I’m sorry to say that when service is this poor, it’s not worth having. We are looking at a sizable property tax increase, which I don’t have a problem with, but I do have an issue with worsening service for no good reason.

No action is required on your part for our home. We are relatively young and relatively able-bodied. We were able to clear the mess in front of our house. I have attached photos and a video. Please ensure that we go back to the old standard of service. Thank you.