Wild weather keeps Charlottetown's sidewalk crews busy

Charlottetown's sidewalks were snowy, slushy, icy and full of puddles on Tuesday and Wednesday as temperature and weather swings made clearing a tough job.

Scott Adams, manager of public works for Charlottetown, said the varying temperatures affect their snow and ice clearing response, but there have been no major issues so far.

The city is responsible for clearing sidewalks and they will generally go out after the snowplows hit the roads so they fully clear the path, Adams said.

He also noted that they use a salt and sand mixture on the sidewalks, compared to just salt on the roads, so that pedestrians have some grip underneath their feet.

"What the traffic will do is it helps break down the salt, helps move it around, so it helps you clean up the street a lot faster," Adams said. "Whereas on the sidewalk, you don't get the amount of traffic and you also have a lot of tree coverage."

The sand they add to the sidewalk helps provide grip while the salt melts the ice.

The city has nine sidewalk plows that can salt, plow and blow the snow depending on what's needed. The city clears the downtown core and seven hired contractors take care of the suburbs within Charlottetown.

He noted some small businesses decide to clear the snow in front of their store and that can be a big help. Particularly when they clear close to the building, as the city's crews don't go too close to buildings to avoid damaging them.

Adams said if someone falls on an icy sidewalk or there's damage to property, they can submit a claim to the city. He added that residents can contact the public works team 24 hours a day and go on the city's website for more information.

"Every snowstorm is different and we're making changes as we go during these storms," Adams said. "Our team is out there monitoring conditions and making changes as we need to and at the end of the day, our goal is to get everything cleaned up and cleared as fast as possible."

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