After 2 weeks stuck inside, Edmontonian wants more snow cleared from sidewalks

Each snowfall, Enea Grande can find himself trapped inside his home for weeks.

Last month, after a storm dropped more than 10 centimetres of snow, he could not leave his house for two weeks because the city did not clear his neighbourhood sidewalks in west Edmonton. 

"I would like to go for a walk with my wife and I can't," he said.

"I can get to my mailbox. And that's as far as I can go."

Grande uses an electric wheelchair after a brain aneurysm more than a decade ago left him unable to walk, talk, or eat on his own. 

LISTEN | Navigating snowy city sidewalks:

The City of Edmonton only plows some pathways, such as those near parks and green spaces. In most cases, the responsibility for clearing sidewalks falls on property owners. 

Failure to remove snow in front of your home can result in a $100 fine.

"Being able-bodied, you can walk on some snow banks. But being elderly or disabled, I cannot travel under those conditions at all," said Grande on CBC Edmonton's Radio Active. 

Since October the city has received more than 1,500 sidewalk-specific complaints this winter from residents dialling 311. They have issued 69 tickets. 

Last winter the city received 5,475 complaints. 

In the same period, the city has issued 801 tickets this winter to residents not removing snow on sidewalks in front of their homes, according to data from the city.

Making Edmonton more accessible

At least one city councillor wants to make Edmonton's sidewalks more usable for people with reduced mobility. 

"It's not fair to people who might have different mobility needs to not be able to experience our city in the winter," said Coun. Andrew Knack, who also serves on the Accessibility Advisory Committee. 

The city, Knack said, should put more emphasis on clearing snow from pathways, including digging out curb cuts, where the sidewalk dips down onto the road to allow access for people in wheelchairs and baby strollers. 

Even in cases where the city does clear sidewalks, many times the curb cut is still choked with snow and ice, he explained.

"I was out last night and shared a picture on my social media about a road right at a crosswalk that was just pure ice from side to side," he said.

The responsibility for clearing curb cuts also falls on property owners in corner lots, according to the city's website. 

The city offers $1,000 grants to community league groups, which help residents with mobility issues remove snow and ice from sidewalks, a city spokesperson told CBC News.

'It's getting worse'

Knack hopes the City of Edmonton will improve its snow-clearing policies, but wheelchair user Bean Gill is skeptical. 

"Our communication is either being lost or it's just not cared for," said Gill, spokesperson for Wheels of Change, a wheelchair advocacy group in Alberta. 

"It's 2021 and we are consistently talking about inclusion and accessibility. Why isn't it already here?"

Having a disability is already isolating, she said. Throw in the snow and ice during Edmonton's long winters and wheelchair use can be very challenging. 

"If you've pushed a shopping cart in a parking lot full of snow, you can understand a little bit of what it's like," Gill said.

Eventually, the city did clear pathways in Grande's neighbourhood, allowing him to go out. But until guidelines change, Grande expects he will likely be trapped at home again when the snow returns.