Winnipeggers rate city snow clearing in new poll

Most Winnipeggers think snow clearing of streets is done well and quickly by city crews but when it comes to sidewalks, well, that's a different story.

In a recent survey, conducted by Prairie Research Associates, Winnipeggers were asked to rate their satisfaction with the city's response times for snow clearing as well as the quality of the work.

The survey focused on the clearing done at four locations:

• Street at front of residence.
• Back lane of residence.
• Sidewalks on major streets.
• Sidewalks around residence.

Winnipeggers were much more likely to be satisfied with response times for snow clearing on residential streets than on sidewalks. Of respondents, 59 per cent were satisfied with response times for residential streets and 52 per cent were satisfied with response times for back lanes, but that number dropped to 25 per cent when it came to residential sidewalks.

• 'Worst in 60 years': Snow-covered sidewalks leave Winnipegger stumped​

Participants were asked to respond to the question "How satisfied were you with the response time of the City of Winnipeg to clear snow on the street located at the front of your residence?" by rating their level of satisfaction from one to five, with one being very unsatisfied and five being very satisfied.

Using the same scale, Winnipeggers were also more likely to be satisfied with the quality of snow clearing on residential streets than residential sidewalks and back lanes. Of respondents, 64 per cent said they were satisfied with the quality of snow clearing on the street in front of their residence. When it came to back lanes, 46 per cent said they were satisfied with the quality of clearing and the number dropped to 42 per cent for residential sidewalks.

One third say windrows a 'serious problem'

More than 40 per cent of respondents said windrows were not a problem on their property, but 33 per cent of respondents rated windrows as a "serious problem," again using a one-to-five scale where one was "not at all a problem" and five was "very serious problem."

The research group noted that those under 30 were much less likely to say windrows were not a problem than those 30 and older, at 28 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.

• 'You become a shut-in': Winnipegger who uses wheelchair says snowstorms isolate people with disabilities​

However, when participants were asked to rate how likely they were to support an increase in taxes to have the City of Winnipeg clear windrows, 58 per cent said they were not likely and 20 per cent said they were likely to support such a move.

Winnipeggers 65 and older were more likely to be in the support camp with 31 per cent saying they were likely to support a tax, as were those under 30, with 26 per cent.

Winnipeggers between 30 and 64 were the least likely to support the increase, with 14 per cent saying they were likely to support the tax.

• Snowy sidewalks mean pile of complaints for city hall​

PRA conducted the survey of 848 Winnipeggers from Jan. 16–17. A random population survey of this size would yield an error rate of plus-or-minus 3.4 per cent 19 times out of 20.