Numerous complaints about walls of snow and ice blocking Mississauga driveways prompt action from Mayor Crombie
Published March 7, 2023 at 1:45 pm
Mayor Bonnie Crombie vows she and her council will do everything in their power to finally be able to clear large, heavy walls of snow and ice from the bottom of Mississauga residents’ driveways during winter.
The significant deposits of snow and ice left behind after plows clear the roads–particularly the smaller streets and cul-de-sacs–create huge problems for both residents who must clear the heavy mess in order to get in and out of their driveway and municipal politicians who hear numerous complaints from people each winter.
The heavy snow and ice walls are known as windrows and while the City of Mississauga offers a program to help residents, particularly seniors, clear the mess, it doesn’t have the resources or equipment to remove the windrows for everyone who needs help with the burdensome task.
In an Instagram interview with insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura on Monday, Crombie said complaints from residents are growing in number and she promised council will push harder moving forward to find a solution.
She noted there is a piece of equipment on the market that will clear windrows on the city’s larger roads and main arteries, but it is unable to do the same on smaller residential streets and cul-de-sacs, which is where the vast majority of complaints originate.
The equipment, which could cost as much as $8 million, the mayor estimated, is simply too large and long to fit onto the smaller streets in the city.
Crombie said she and all councillors have heard the complaints, which, despite a milder winter, have been greater in number this year–especially from seniors and moms who must clear the snow/ice mess themselves while also watching the kids.
The complaints from residents “…are numerous, and I hear you. And we will have to look into whether the equipment exists that will clear the snow and ice walls” from smaller streets and cul-de-sacs, the mayor vowed.
“It is an issue and I feel badly, particularly for our seniors, people with accessibility issues,” Crombie said, noting many people, including young moms, are left frustrated when their driveway-shovelling efforts are wasted when the snow plows go by shortly afterwards and leave large windrows behind.
“I feel for you. I’ve been that mom clearing the driveway. I know exactly how you feel.
“We have not had a lot of snow this year, but the impact of the snow and ice we have had has been pretty profound.”
Last November, prior to the first major snowfall of winter, Mississauga councillors talked about a plan to expand the City’s Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program.
It’s one of the City’s key snow-clearing services that many seniors and others have come to rely on during winter.
The program is available each winter on a first-come, first-served basis to residents aged 65 and older or people with physical disabilities.
At that time, City staff said it would get back to council in early 2023 with a report on what it might take to clear windrows for people on a wider scale across Mississauga.
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