Winnipeg councillor introducing motion to cancel controversial snow-clearing pilot project

A lineup of snowplows is pictured on a Winnipeg street. (File Image)

Following a mountain of pushback, plans to do a controversial experiment with snow clearing in Winnipeg are melting away.

This year’s budget proposal included a pilot project to increase the threshold when snow would be cleared on residential streets from 10 to 15 centimetres.

But Mayor Scott Gillingham said he and other councillors are hearing from residents that they want the same levels of snow-clearing service maintained.

So they are cancelling the snow pilot.

“I think in our office we had more feedback concerned about the snow clearing pilot idea than we did about the property tax increase.”

That tax hike is 5.95 per cent, higher than the promised 3.5 per cent.

Public works chair Janice Lukes, who has authored a motion to officially end the snow-clearing pilot, said what really resonated with her were concerns raised about how this would impact people with mobility issues.

“People are concerned. I want to hear the concerns. I talked to the mayor about it a lot and I’m going to kill it,” said Lukes.

Melissa Graham, the executive director with the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, is relieved the snow plan is being cancelled.

“You need to be able to cross the road to get between sidewalks,” said Graham. “We were really worried if the roads weren’t cleared, people weren’t going to be able to use the sidewalks. They weren’t going to be able to get around the community.”

The mayor said the trial may have saved $1 to $3 million. The city is grappling with a budget crunch, in part because of an ever-growing snow budget due to increasing contractor costs and inflation.

“You know our public works department needs to continue to work to control costs and try to mitigate expenses,” said Gillingham.

The 2025 budget is scheduled to be considered by city council on Jan. 25.