Frequently Asked Questions (and answers!) from Q&A with Mayor Qualizza

Mayor Qualizza and CAO Boronowski were joined on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm by representatives from Streets & Utilities, Sustainable Service Delivery, and Bylaw Enforcement in a real-time Q&A on Facebook. The following summarizes questions and answers from that session, including answers to questions we were unable to address in the time allotted. Questions and answers have been grouped by theme and truncated and/or edited for clarity and to avoid duplication.

Purpose

Why is the City doing this?

The previous way of managing snow throughout the City was unsustainable.
Plowing snow to the current level is resource intensive and costly. We rely heavily on volunteer overtime to get the job done. This is not just expensive, but also increases safety related incidents, results in equipment damage, and takes staff away from other important work and results in deferred maintenance in all seasons.
The pilot is intended to provide a standardized service response that is consistent and fair WITHIN CURRENT RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS.
The pilot is allowing us to gather the data required to make defensible and transparent decisions around resources and snow management budgeting, and we are committed to gathering that data over the course of the entire winter season.

The City had been doing a great job up until now. Why fix what isn’t broken?

While some areas of the City may have experienced high levels of service, we were not consistently plowing access to critical infrastructure, emergency services, etc., a situation which sometimes lasted for several days. We are now able to consistently clear access to critical infrastructure, schools and other P1 and P2 areas on day 1 after a snowfall. However, the trade-off may be a delay in the service to your street.
The previous system costs us in hours of lost maintenance in other areas.

This is the worst I’ve seen it in 25 years, and we haven’t had very much snow this year! Is this really worth it?

The City had no choice but to take action: the previous way encroached on our ability to maintain infrastructure year round, led to higher numbers of safety incidents, and was inconsistent across the community.
The pilot is allowing us to gather important data so that our policy decisions – including decisions around resources and budgeting – are informed, transparent, and defensible.

Has the budget for snow clearing been cut over the years? What do you really mean by “unsustainable”?

Great question. No, the budget has not been cut over the years, but the service area hasn’t been reviewed in over two decades – and our community has grown and changed in those 20 years. When we say “unsustainable”, we mean that we do not actually have the resources to deliver what the community expects today or in the future. You may have been happy with the snow clearing service you were experiencing, but the trade off was that the City was unable to clear access to critical infrastructure, delaying routine maintenance and driving costs up in other areas.
We have also routinely relied on our streets team volunteering to work overtime every time it snowed. Fernie gets a lot of snow! This practice led to an increase in safety related accidents, a poor work-life balance for team members, inconsistent service on weekends and holidays, and diminishing resource availability over the rest of the year, resulting in deferred maintenance and increased costs on roads, water, and sewer service areas in other seasons.

Has the City employed a professional consulting company to come up with a real snow management plan?

The work of local government is reviewing the services we provide, engaging the community for their feedback and testing alternatives. The current system hasn’t been reviewed in over 20 years, and this pilot project is the opportunity to gather the necessary information to make informed, data-driven recommendations to Council.

Process

Why loop through 2 or 3 times before clearing the whole road? Do it right the first time!

Thanks to feedback from the community and our Streets team, we are pivoting to curb-to-curb service. Our switch to curb-to-curb will clear driving lanes and parking lanes on the first pass. However, while the quality of service will increase, there will be a delay in service, and we encourage residents to provide feedback and their views on this change.

The roads will keep narrowing over the course of the winter. This is a fail!

Our pivot to curb-to-curb will alleviate this concern about the narrowing of driving lanes. Please continue to provide your feedback on this change in service.

We have had no back-to-back snow events since this pilot project started last year so you have no data as to how this is going to be when it does happen.

We have had significant rain-on-snow events – major snowfalls where the temperature remains below zero are significantly more straightforward to address. This pilot is part of establishing a baseline and improving services from there with additional resources.

There are plenty of efficient snow clearing plans around the country. Why is Fernie having such a challenge?

We are moving to curb-to-curb for the next few major snowfalls to determine if this approach will improve service without becoming too slow in terms of opening up critical travel corridors. We appreciate the multiple passes and narrow driving lanes have been a big concern.
The pilot project aligns with standard practices of prioritizing roads.

Why can Sparwood clear their snow effectively and we can’t?

Sparwood has a few factors that help contribute to their snow management response that Fernie does not: it is a relatively new community (1960s) and has not had to had to invest in snow removal at the expense of maintaining other critical infrastructure. Second, Sparwood has no on-street parking in the winter, which enables a clean and efficient curb-to-curb response.

How does sending crews out in spring to fix the damage done to boulevards and yards save money?

Thanks for your question. The City operators do not intentionally damage boulevards while clearing snow. However, on occasion, this does happen. This is most prevalent in areas where there is no curb and gutter to mark the edge of the parking lanes. When this occurs, we make sure to repair the boulevard with dirt and seed in the spring. On average we repair 15 - 25 patches of grass in the spring annually.

Why are windrows created on both sides of the street in areas where there are driveways/houses on only one side?

The pilot focused on delivering a standardized approach to clearing snow across the community. That meant split plowing all roads outside of the downtown core. We are continuing to reassess our approach during the pilot and this has been an area that has been identified, especially in areas where there is no development or no pedestrian access maintained to things like bus stops, trailheads, winter maintained parks, and sidewalks.

Why is 2^nd Avenue the only area being centre plowed?

The right of way in the downtown core is entirely built-out with infrastructure, right up to private property lines. As a result, there is nowhere to store snow. Centre plowing and hauling snow is costly and in all other areas of the community there is an available road right-of-way that is intended for snow storage. Previous practices of centre plowing in other areas drove costs for hauling snow and relied on significant overtime costs, resulting in deferred maintenance in other service areas.

Your snow management seems to be just moving snow around? But not taking it away?

Our roads are constructed to maintain adequate right-of-way in order to store snow on the boulevard once it’s been split plowed. We remove snow from the downtown core because there is no City-owned right-of-way to accommodate snow storage.
The boulevard is the grassy area between the driving and parking lanes and the sidewalk. This falls within the City right-of-way.

I live in the Cedars. Roads are cleared using the sand truck with the belly plow. Although there are two passes the road is barely wide enough for one car. Would it be possible to use the front-end loader with the sidearm plow regularly?

The Cedars is included in the pilot as a P4 and intended to be widened in priority order. Areas like Montane and the Cedars sometimes have delayed plowing if construction equipment impedes larger plowing equipment. Our pivot to curb-to-curb should yield improvements in these areas.

Why doesn’t the City clear a path through James White Park?

While the City does not currently allocate resources to clearing James White Park, we do groom trails, the south parking lot, and access to the washrooms and staging area. Your feedback will be included in the evaluation of the pilot program and in recommendations for future policy.

Why is the grader running around town with the blade up?

We are striving to deliver snow clearing services in priority order. This means that equipment will lift their blade through residential areas to get to the high priority routes. For more information on the proposed prioritization framework visit https://letstalk.fernie.ca and check out the Winter Snow page – don’t forget to register to have your say.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on having a “live” map via GPS equipped vehicles.

This practice is used routinely in many large communities and there are great online map tools that can support improved communication with the public on when equipment will be in neighborhoods. The snow and ice management service area has not been reviewed in over 20 years. We are way overdue to reconnect with the community on priorities and service expectations and through the pilot we hope to achieve just that. We will consider GPS on equipment in future years, but right now we are focused on establishing a baseline service for the community.

Is there any way for residents to know the snow removal route/routine better? It’s hard to maintain the alternating parking on the street in front of our home as it can be days or even weeks before both sides are cleared.

Maps are available at https://www.fernie.ca/EN/main/residents/city-services/roads-snow-clearing/snow-and-ice-policy-update.html
Alternate parking schedules are in effect from November through April. Neighbourhood maps are also available via the link above.

Bylaw Enforcement

Why don’t you just two more cars and enforce the parking regulations?

In November and December 2020, our Bylaw Enforcement Officers attended 3 full plows beginning at 4:00 am and towed 12 vehicles, issued 12 tickets and 48 warnings for winter parking infractions, and were out in the neighbourhoods knocking on doors to encourage people to move their cars for incoming plows.

We have 1.5 Bylaw Officers for 65 kilometers of roads. We therefore encourage residents to adhere to parking regulations before we have to impose penalties.

Why is there no alternate parking for the Stanford area?

Alternate parking regulations are in effect City wide on all City owned roads, unless otherwise signed. The Bylaw Enforcement team is enforcing the Streets and Traffic Bylaws and supporting the plow crews.
If you routinely are noticing vehicles not adhering to the parking regulations, go knock on your neighbour’s door and remind them their actions impact the whole area. You can also visit https://www.fernie.ca/ and register a formal request for service for this area to be monitored by our Bylaw Officers or call City Hall at 250-423-6817.

What are the fines for other snow removal companies in town that push and dump their snow on city streets?

The bylaw states that no person shall plow, place or pile snow or ice onto any highway, footpath, sidewalk or boulevard, and is punishable by a $50 ticket.
Improper snow storage also interrupts the City’s snow routes and our ability to clear and maintain the priority routes as planned, which delays service times and increases costs.

Does the town have a sidewalk clearing bylaw?

Yes. Businesses are responsible for clearing their sidewalks by 9am. Residential areas do not have a bylaw that speaks to clearing sidewalks.

Resources and Staffing

Aren’t there any employees that work overnight and weekends that can operate the graders and larger equipment?

There weren’t before the pilot. We now have more operators trained on more equipment to be able to operate larger equipment during evenings and on weekend.

Why can’t you outsource at least some of the maintenance (like sidewalks, for example) to private companies?

Snow clearing and maintenance services are delivered by our CUPE employee team.

Why don’t you use more experienced operators?

We have had several retirements of long-term, experienced operators over the past few years, and while we feel their absence, our current crews are quickly gaining experience and an understanding of the routes and neighbourhoods. They are also being cross-trained on the equipment which will allow for more flexible responses as conditions and forecasts change. Residents can help contribute to their success by adhering to alternate parking regulations.

The footprint for the City has increased substantially over the past few years. Has the City increased the number of employees to cover the growth when it comes to operators trained on the equipment?

This service area has not been reviewed in more than 20 years, and so part of our intent is to use data from the pilot program to determine what resource levels are required to deliver a consistent, sustainable, and safe snow management service. We currently have more operators trained on more equipment than in recent years.

Schools

My primary concern is the situation around the schools. It is very dangerous, and I am afraid for the safety of the students.

We appreciate the concern and will focus attention at the school drop off areas, including 2^nd and 3^rd Avenue between 12^th and 14^th Street near EIDES.
The pivot to curb-to-curb should also help alleviate concerns about the narrowing of roads and bus parking. We encourage people to continue to provide their feedback on this change.

Would it be possible to add schools to the critical infrastructure list, after hospitals, of course?

Yes. Schools are P2 routes under the new pilot.

There needs to be a better attempt to clean up school zones BEFORE school starts.

Clearing snow for essential services such as schools are second only to supporting continuity of emergency services, maintaining of main corridors in the community, and the downtown core. The City strives to deliver services to the school routes that align with school operating hours, including drop off and pick-up times. We acknowledge we have not always been able to achieve that. We are working to identify where more resources are required.

Laneways

If a laneway has both residential and commercial properties, is it plowed?

Yes, if there is a commercial property on a block and that commercial property has access off the laneway, the lane is maintained and cleared as a commercial lane. If the commercial property is vacant and does not hold an active business license, service is not provided until such a time as the commercial property becomes active again.

Can lanes in the Annex between 13^th Street and 14^th Street be cleared? These are where the 4plexes are with multiple residents and cars.

Currently the City only clears commercial lanes. Multi-family residential units that access parking off lanes are responsible for clearing access for their tenants. Please visit https://letstalk.fernie.ca/ and register to have your say if you feel services should be extended to support areas beyond commercial lanes.

Please address the back alley on the 800 block between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenue. The area is zoned commercial.

Thank you. We have reviewed this area and have determined this laneway was incorrectly noted as a “no service” area. We are updating our maps and service delivery accordingly.

Sidewalks

Why doesn’t the City sand the sidewalks? Use serrated blades? Hold homeowners accountable for keeping sidewalks clear?

The City does sand sidewalks but we recognize there is room for improvement. As sidewalk clearing has not been a consistent service the City has provided in previous years, the City has not yet modernized the equipment fleet to best serve sidewalk corridors. We are making do with the resources we currently have. Through this pilot initiative we are hearing from the community and will be identifying specific resources including equipment required to meet the expressed needs of the community.
Historically, only commercial and multi-family residential properties have been responsible for and held accountable to clearing and maintaining their sidewalks in the winter. Shifting to a different model could be considered if the community desired.

Why are we trying to save the sidewalks so much? People are already electing to walk on the roadways because of the sand and gravel.

Maintaining active transportation corridors in the winter is important to many in our community and a main factor in reviewing our snow and ice management service area. In some areas, we have been trialing clearing sidewalks and leaving a windrow between the sidewalk and roadway. We have had lots of feedback that this practice makes pedestrians feel safe with a physical barrier between vehicles. Unfortunately, with the significant fluctuations in temperatures, this trial has also contributed to icy conditions on sidewalks in these areas. We are pivoting to go back to clearing sidewalks without the windrow separation. We look forward to your feedback.

I thought 6^th Avenue was a route to keep people off the highway? What happened?

6^th Avenue is not currently part of the sidewalk corridor that is being cleared as part of the pilot. That said, the pilot is meant to be iterative. We want to hear from you if we need to be maintaining different routes for pedestrian mobility. Please visit https://letstalk.fernie.ca/ and check out the Winter Snow project page, check out the “Show Us” mapping tool and drop a pin. If this is a route that many pedestrians are using or wanting to use, then we will clear and maintain it. Let us know!

Why are only the west side of 2^nd Avenue north sidewalks maintained by the City and not the east side sidewalks?

The City has many sidewalk corridors throughout the community and as part of the pilot, we are only clearing main routes. Check out https://letstalk.fernie.ca/ to see what our main routes are and register to have your say.

Why are we only plowing to the sidewalks and not over the sidewalks? The roads are narrow and the sidewalks unpassable due to ice build-up.

We are trailing maintaining a separate sidewalk and road corridor. If we start pushing snow over the sidewalk, over the course of the winter we will eventually lose the sidewalk. We are continuing to monitor this over the winter to determine the community’s preference.

I work with people with acquired brain injuries. Due to COVID, one of our only option to engage is to go for a walk.

Thank you for the inquiry. Part of the reason we are shifting the way we manage snow is that we recognized the need to support safe active transportation. We are working to improve this service and have had feedback that some routes are much better.

Down in the Airport I see that the plow has come by on some streets to clear the sidewalk mess but on some streets, including mine, it hasn’t been touched.

The maps showing which sidewalks are cleared during the pilot are available at https://www.fernie.ca/EN/main/residents/city-services/roads-snow-clearing/snow-and-ice-policy-update.html, and widening roads and moving to curb-to-curb should improve access and mobility.

Fire Hydrants

I have noticed that fire hydrants haven’t been cleared in our area. Shouldn’t these be done any time there is a significant snowfall?

We do clear fire hydrants as resources allow. We also coordinate directly with first responders and would scramble staff to ensure they’re clear and access is provided in case of emergency.
Fire hydrants are part of the priority 5 service area. For more information on the priority framework, please go to https://www.fernie.ca/EN/main/residents/city-services/roads-snow-clearing/snow-and-ice-policy-update.html

Drainage

I am concerned that the snow plowing covers most storm drains, so in the springtime there is no way run off will get to the drains. (Alpine Trails)

Thank you for sharing this concern. We will review this with the team. Please note that rain events pose problems with balancing the need to peel snow/slush back off the road and opening drains. These conditions are very challenging with current staffing levels.

The City came and pushed 5 feet on top of the drain in front of my house. Is there no concern for keeping those clear? I am unclear on the policy for storm drains.

Our pivot to curb-to-curb will help maintain road width and access to drainage. You should see improvements with this new approach.

Windrow Clearing Program

Can you please clarify whether the Seniors’ Windrow Program is still running?

Yes, it is. Supporting seniors and people with mobility challenges is a high priority for this Council. We currently deliver windrow clearing services to 150 seniors and people with disabilities/mobility concerns, which is a 13% increase over previous years’ averages. Please note that applications for the program must be completed annually, More information and application forms can be found here: https://www.fernie.ca/EN/main/residents/city-services/roads-snow-clearing.html

I’m on the list for windrow removal. It has NEVER been done without having to phone the City. Feeling frustrated is an understatement.

We’re sorry to hear that. Windrow clearing is provided on weekdays for people on the program. If you have signed up for the program this year (you do need to reapply each year) then please connect with us by calling City Hall at 250-423-6817.

Community Feedback

It would be good to maybe allow other members of the community who are not on Facebook to express their thoughts by invitation to written submission. Some of the elderly residents who are affected may not have the same online communication that we have.

Thank you for this comment and suggestion. Please note that all citizens have an opportunity to provide feedback by calling City Hall at 250-423-6817, requesting service, and providing input when this pilot is reviewed and goes before Council.

When seniors call City Hall, are they able to talk to someone?

Yes. Our front desk staff are able register their complaints or complete a request for service on their behalf.

Why are you running this pilot program during a pandemic? There needs to be safe, in person consultation.

The City began the work of reviewing the snow management service area in the 2019/2020 winter season. We ran a pilot starting in February 2020 and held a public open house with 50+ residents attending, and a targeted business community stakeholder workshop with 15+ participating. Unfortunately, there were not enough snow falls to get enough data to support making recommendations for change. This year’s pilot is a continuation of that work. We are committed to continued community consultation throughout the winter season on this topic. Please visit https://letstalk.fernie.ca/ to stay informed of engagement opportunities and register to have your say.