Snow banks cause problems for Sudbury residents

Big snow banks in parts of Sudbury are causing problems for some city residents.

Roxanne Bonany says that she and her three young daughters have had to stand on the road at a Bancroft Drive bus stop. She says there is nowhere else to wait for the bus because of the snow bank.

As someone who doesn't drive and who uses transit on a regular basis, Bonany says that the snow bank situation is very discouraging.

"The bank is almost as high as the sign for the transit," she said.

"People are tooting at us, honking at us, like where would you like me to stand? It's a bus stop. And if you go farther down the bus won't pick you up there. I've had that happen where the bus drives right by us."

Cheyanne Monk says catching her bus at Notre Dame and Mitchell has been frustrating and dangerous. The bank blocking her stop has since been cleared, but she says it was a unsafe situation.

"The only place to wait ... is on the road next to five lanes of highway traffic," she said.

"The bus driver sometimes can't see me until the last second and has had to dangerously slam on the brakes on a busy road."

Meanwhile, Jennafer Jarratt says getting her mail from a community box on Falconbridge has become dangerous this winter. She says the snow banks had gotten so high, there was no visibility to turn safely back onto Falconbridge.

The large banks at the entrance of the spot have since been cleared, but Jarratt says she got the runaround trying to get the problem fixed.

"[Canada Post] said it was the city's responsibility to remove the snow and that Canada Post is not being held accountable for the snow removal," she said.

What gets cleared when

According to the city's website, after a major storm crews focus on "maintaining unobstructed sightlines at all major intersections." After those are clear, crews move into residential neighbourhoods to clear intersections "with an obstructed view and roadways which have narrowed to one lane."

It adds that snow removal is not based on the height of a snowbank, as if it's not "obstructing traffic, it will not be removed."

When it comes to bus stops, the city says the person waiting for a bus should wait in a cleared area closest to the stop and signal the driver if the stop isn't cleared.

It adds sidewalks — which are cleared when there is 8 cm of accumulation of snow — must be cleared before bus stops.

Canada Post encourages people to contact them if you can't access your community mailbox due to snow.