Some community leagues opt to maintain their own sandboxes after city-wide program shrinks

A dozen community leagues have decided to run their own community sandboxes this winter after the City of Edmonton decided to reduce the number of public sandboxes.

Edmonton has been providing residents with free sand to sprinkle on icy sidewalks for more than 30 years and used to fill community sandboxes at more than 770 locations throughout the city.

Last year, the city announced it would be removing a small number of sandboxes during the 2023-24 winter season and would be axing another 600 locations this season, replacing them with "100 centralized sites distributed throughout Edmonton." Sand is also available at 11 "large bin" locations.

Morgan Wolf, vice-president of the Elmwood Park community league, said as soon as the league heard about the city reducing locations, board members voted to maintain their own sandbox.

Wolf said the neighbourhood is very small and the closest city-maintained boxes would not be close enough for residents to walk to. The league requested a free box from the city and has hired a landscaping company to fill it on an as-needed basis.

"It was disappointing to see, but I'm glad that we can be a service for our community," she said.

Community leagues in King Edward Park, Kilkenny, Windsor Park, Malmo Plains, Cameron Heights, Elmwood, Crestwood, Grovenor, McQueen, Sherbrooke and Glastonbury are also maintaining their own boxes this season, according to Valerie Dacyk, general supervisor of the City of Edmonton's infrastructure field operations.

All community leagues that expressed interest in receiving a box received one, Dacyk said in an emailed statement. Community leagues are responsible for sharing the location with residents, since the boxes don't appear on the city-wide map.

Why get rid of boxes?

The city decided in 2015 to slash the number of sandboxes to just five — to save money — but reversed its decision after a backlash from residents.

A 2021 snow and ice control audit found the number of sandbox locations in Edmonton was much higher than in other cities with sandbox programs.

At the time, the office of the city auditor recommended re-evaluating the program to determine if and how it should keep running.

The city has said maintaining many boxes was "labour-intensive and time-consuming," and sometimes small boxes could empty faster than crews could refill them.

On its website, the city says 87 per cent of surveyed sandbox users, including seniors and people with limited mobility, reported using a vehicle to retrieve sand.

"Public transit is another suitable method of transportation," Dacyk told CBC News in a follow-up emailed statement.

Last year, the city asked residents and stakeholders to share their thoughts on discontinuing the program, reducing or increasing the number of locations, or maintaining the status quo.

According to a report on the public engagement, 35 per cent of 172 people surveyed said they preferred keeping the status quo. The second-most popular option, chosen by 33 per cent of respondents, was reducing and centralizing the boxes.

Volunteers make multiple trips

Catherine Jevic, president of the Sherbrooke community league, said board members have been volunteering to fill the league's box with sand from the city's west maintenance yard at 14410 114th Ave. 

"With that kind of system, it takes about six to eight trips to fill that bin up, so a lot of people are going multiple times in a week or we're just slowly sort of trying to keep up with keeping it full," she said. 

Jevic said the league considered having sand delivered but estimated it would cost between $750 and $1,000 per year.

She called the city's decision to reduce the number of boxes "short-sighted."

"If we're looking at highly utilized resources that are preventing accidents and incidents throughout the city, then that's a worthwhile resource," she said.