Navigating icy sidewalks no easy feat for visually impaired Montrealer

For the first time in five days, Penina Simon tried to go for a walk outside. She only made it about four metres away from her apartment building in St-Henri before giving up.

Simon, who is visually impaired, hard of hearing and has balance issues, can't easily navigate Montreal sidewalks in the winter, worse yet when they are covered in ice.

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"Having white reflective snow everywhere and so much ice, makes it harder to get around and see where I'm trying to go," Simon said.

Since Friday, she's been cooped up inside — she even missed New Year's Eve festivities with friends because she couldn't navigate the outdoors.

"It's really frustrating," she said.

"It just makes everything more uncertain. I want to be able to do things. I want to make plans, I want to be able to go grocery shopping!"

Crawling on all fours

Simon came back from holidays on Friday and making her way to her apartment from the Metro station was treacherous.

"I literally crawled across the ice because I just didn't want to fall down," she said.

"I crawled on my hands and knees, I did."

Simon said a woman walking nearby came to see if she needed help.

"Oh, I'm here by my own volition," Simon said she told the woman, laughing.

I literally crawled across the ice.- Penina Simon

She did contact the Southwest borough when offices opened Jan. 2. She was told a work order was placed for crews to go out to her street.

As of Thursday afternoon, despite salt and sand being spread on the sidewalk and snow plows going by, it was still very icy.

On Wednesday morning, city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said crews were out doing second passes of salt, in an attempt to deal with the ice.

The city of Montreal is asking citizens to tell them about icy sidewalks by calling 311 or using the Montréal - Resident Services mobile app to send photos of problem areas.