While many residents responding to a survey about snow removal within the City of Airdrie said they were unhappy with how it’s currently done, many also said they wouldn’t pay more taxes to improve how snow is removed from city streets, according to the results of a telephone survey presented to Airdrie City council on Nov. 17 by Bannister Research & Consulting.
The survey asked respondents how satisfied they were with both the quality and frequency of snow removal. Of the 400 residents surveyed, 27 percent (or 108 respondents) indicated they were very dissatisfied with the quality of snow removal while 26 per cent were very dissatisfied with the frequency.
The survey was conducted by Bannister Research & Consulting during the fall of 2014.
Tracy With, a senior associate with Bannister, said “half of our population were dissatisfied with quality, and half of those felt that more snow removal was needed, the snow’s not cleared and not actually removed from the streets. That was their biggest issue.”
In contrast, only seven per cent (or 28 respondents) were very satisfied with the quality of snow removal and eight per cent (or 32 respondents) were very satisfied with the frequency of snow removal.
But when they were asked if they would pay more taxes to plow the streets right down to the pavement and remove the windrows (excess snow left behind when a plow passes), 35 per cent (or 140 respondents) said they wouldn’t support any sort of tax increase, while a further 35 per cent said they’d support a minimal increase in taxes of $25 to $50 per year.
“When we looked at it – plowing down to pavement, curb to curb, removing windrows – we had 35 per cent unwilling to pay for that service. They weren’t willing to pay anything out of their pocket to have the windrows removed. We’re looking at under 100 residents (of the 400 surveyed) who’d be willing to pay for this service,” With said.
Respondents were also asked if they would pay a one time only fee of $75 for increased snow removal on residential streets in the event of an extreme snow event with 55 per cent (or 220 respondents) not in favour of that option.
Deputy Mayor Allan Hunter said he was not surprised by the results of the survey.
“The real test is, you’re unhappy with (snow removal) but are you willing to pay for it? No,” he said. “So how unhappy are you with it really?”
The winter of 2013 was a bad one for Airdrie in terms of the amount of snow that fell, with more than 100 centimetres falling within the first three weeks of December, the average the city usually sees all winter long, according to Parks Department Team Leader Archie Lang.
The creation of a contingency fund to help increase snow removal during an extreme winter event like Airdrie had in December 2013 was supported by 76 per cent (or 304) of those surveyed.
“In terms of overall satisfaction with winter road maintenance including snow and ice removal, 45 per cent gave us a nice solid, firm, sitting on the fence at three out of five, 25 per cent were dissatisfied and 31 per cent were satisfied,” With said. “This is very typical of an assessment for satisfaction of snow removal. It is the lowest ranked service every time we assess service in Alberta, let alone in the City of Airdrie.”
Changes to Snow Removal Policy
Lang said the Parks Department has asked the City for a truck plow/sander, a loader and three additional full time employees for 2015 in their budget request, now before the Council Budget Committee.
Mayor Peter Brown questioned whether the extra staff and equipment Parks was asking for in the 2015 budget would be enough.
“Looking at the numbers based on other communities with similar types of lengths of road systems, it looks like we’re terribly under-manned and don’t have enough equipment,” Brown said.
“It’s probably never enough,” said Airdrie Roads Team Leader Mike Avramenko. “Your staffing and equipment levels are usually geared towards the arterial roads. We’re asking for this additional equipment because we feel our network is large enough now to make another Priority 1 route.”
Roads in Airdrie are cleared on a priority system with Priority 1 routes being main arterial roads like Main Street and Yankee Valley Boulevard. School zones on school days are also given first priority.
Crews then move on to clear second priority collector roads, including King’s Heights Boulevard and Meadowbrook Drive. Priority 3 includes city facilities like the Municipal Police Building, fire halls and arenas. Finally, crews will work to clear residential roads.
Lang and Avramenko also presented council with a proposal that would involve implementing a protocol for an Extreme Winter Weather Response. That response would be implemented based on the severity of the situation. Changes to the existing Snow and Ice Control Policy and Guidelines would be required to include extreme weather events.
Increasing the Snow and Ice Reserve Fund would also be included in the proposal, subject to the annual budget process. Lang said an additional $250,000 has been requested in this year’s budget by the Parks Department for the reserve fund.
Council unanimously voted to approve the recommendation, which also includes adding snow removal on Airdrie’s rural roads to the Snow and Ice Control Policy and Guidelines, and directing communications staff to introduce a Snow Angel program on the City’s website.
More information about Airdrie’s snow removal policy can be found at airdrie.ca
