What we've Heard - Public Feedback

Attendance at the February 2020 Public Open House event brought a crowd of approximately 50 residents throughout the two-hour evening event. The event was set up with storyboards describing why the City was reviewing the service area and detailing the prioritization framework, the project timeline, what residents could expect for the operational pilot, how they could provide their feedback throughout, how we planned to evaluate the pilot, and requesting specific feedback. The storyboard package can be viewed here. The following themes emerged from the Public Open House on February 25th and from feedback submitted via email:

• People overall were in support of the prioritization framework. Many indicated they very much liked the high priority for emergency services and the inclusion of sidewalk routes, especially those in high pedestrian traffic areas, and in those areas where physical separation is lacking or where there is no sidewalk infrastructure and pedestrians use the roadway.
• Safety was a general theme throughout, including many requests to lower speed limits during the winter, and concerns surrounding the interface between pedestrian corridors and high vehicle traffic areas.
• Many expressed dissatisfaction with existing services for active transportation in the winter and were in support of efforts to enhance access to active transportation in winter seasons.
• There was a common perception that services are not consistent across neighbourhoods. People were happy to see that equitable service delivery was a primary objective of the pilot concept.
• A common comment was a desire to see more snow clearing at intersections to enhance sight lines for both pedestrians and vehicles and also to enhance pedestrian access to sidewalks at intersections.
• Some residents expressed frustration with lack of on-street and sidewalk interface drainage and want staff to consider drainage when planning for snow clearing options.
• There was a clear call to action for the City to better manage community expectations regarding service levels and to clarify roles and responsibilities for snow clearing.
• The public wants to see better coordination between plowing of roads and sidewalks.
• And finally, a very common theme was that people want to see an increase to the City’s enforcement of parking bylaws.