After Orillia was slammed with its first big winter storm last weekend, local social media pages were blitzed with a blizzard of complaints about the poor state of the city’s roads and sidewalks.
Concerns about icy roads, slick and unplowed sidewalks, and comments about the usage of ice and sand were among a storm of replies to a social media post earlier this week.
In the post, an anonymous user questioned whether the downtown sidewalks were salted and clear enough to take their mother out shopping.
“It doesn’t seem like they do, no. Driving and walking have both been dangerous and sketchy,” replied Brandie Thompson.
“Not sure about sidewalks, but the roads are ridiculously icy … definitely need some sand down,” said Lisa Humphrey Emons.
“Orillia isn’t doing the job of plowing, sanding, or salting. Roads and sidewalks are terrible. This city needs to do a lot more for winter safety,” added Cathy Atkinson.
Others, however, said they have been navigating the city just fine in the days since the winter storm.
“Barrie has a bare road policy, Orillia does not, to start,” said Jeremy Ruhl. “I work and live in Orillia and have zero issues getting around.”
“Of course they (salt and clear sidewalks), you just have to be cautious walking,” said Tammy Davenport.
Residents also commented that the city’s downtown sidewalk plow is currently broken, and highlighted that shop owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalk along their storefronts.
Ultimately, the anonymous poster said they opted against taking their mother downtown.
“I’m going to take my mother to a different town to shop and walk around,” they wrote. “I appreciate everyone’s input and will visit downtown in the spring or summer.”
Roger Young, the city’s general manager of environment and infrastructure services, said the city’s slick conditions this week were caused by challenges with the “extreme” weather Orillia faced over the weekend.
“The city received approximately 12 cm of snow and freezing rain on Sunday, followed by a substantial drop in temperature. The rapid change from unseasonably warm temperatures to sustained cold temperatures can lead to ice accumulation on road and sidewalk surfaces that can create challenges for traction,” he said in a statement to OrilliaMatters.
“Although crews attempt to address slippery conditions as soon as possible, in extreme weather changes, such as what occurred recently, we remind residents to exercise extreme caution when venturing out. The city is also continuing to review the salting and sanding practices to ensure traction during winter control.”
Young said the city has applied salt to both the city’s roads and sidewalks this week, using “combination units” that plow and salt simultaneously.
The city has also applied sand “when conditions necessitated its usage,” he said, although the city is amidst a pilot project that has broadly eliminated sand application on municipal roads.
“The city’s pilot project has demonstrated a visible reduction of sand and silt materials entering our storm water systems and discharging into the lakes,” Young said.
“The results of the pilot have demonstrated that the use of salt alone is an effective measure to manage slippery surfaces in the majority of conditions," Young explained.
“There are some circumstances, generally during more extreme cold temperatures, where the city will continue to use sand to ensure appropriate vehicle traction.”
Young said standard procedure is to clear all roads within 24 hours of snow, and all sidewalks in the following 48 hours, although these timeframes can be extended during heavy or back-to-back storms.
He said there are five classes of roads in the city, with classes one, two, and three – such as arterial and secondary collector roads – being cleared on a priority basis.
Regarding sidewalks, Young confirmed merchants in the city’s business improvement area are required to clear the sidewalks in front of their businesses, and that developers are responsible for streets and sidewalks in neighbourhoods currently under construction.
The snowplow used to clear downtown Orillia’s sidewalks is currently out of operation, he said, noting officials are currently working to address the issue.
“The city and the Downtown Orillia BIA work together to purchase and maintain a specialty sidewalk plow used in the areas managed by the Downtown Orillia BIA,” he said.
“We did experience a significant mechanical failure with the speciality sidewalk plow earlier this week, leaving it out of service for the unforeseeable future," Young said.
“City staff are working to provide the Downtown Orillia BIA with an alternate piece of equipment for the balance of the season.”
If a business owner in the BIA fails to clear snow from the sidewalk along their storefront, Young said they can face a $200 inspection fee, as well as contractor costs to clear the snow, but added that “the city has not engaged this process during the 2023/24 winter control season.”
