A snowy sidewalk in Kelowna, Jan. 6, 2022.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Road condition complaints are a common occurrence with heavy snowfall but those without mobility issues may not consider the condition of sidewalks.

Kelowna resident Spring Hawes, a wheelchair user, said she is fortunate to have a car, or it would have been too dangerous for her to leave her home in the last two weeks.

“Wheelchairs are not designed for snow and I literally could not leave my house in this wheelchair. I would get stuck immediately and then I would sit there and hope the next person who came along is a nice person,” she said.

READ MORE: Why Kelowna is still catching up on snow clearance

It’s an isolating time for people with mobility challenges who aren’t able to leave their homes, she said.

Another wheelchair user she knows got stuck for 45 minutes on the sidewalk in the cold.

“It’s cold out there and it’s a life and death safety thing, it’s not just a matter of convenience," she said.

Hawes would like to see sidewalks prioritized in the same way as roads are.

“If we’re building an active transportation network and we want people to reduce their use of cars just in general, we have to treat sidewalks the same as we treat roads," she said.

So far, she said Kelowna has done a subpar job in clearing the sidewalks. Snow piled up next to the walkways also poses a challenge. Hawes would also like to see better clearing of disability parking spaces.

“That makes it impossible for people to get from the car to the sidewalk, so that’s something I think that’s really easily fixed,” Hawes said.

Kelowna’s public works manager Geert Bos said the city provides sidewalk plowing services in certain areas of the city, as part of its traffic bylaw. Otherwise, sidewalk clearing falls to the responsibility of the property owner. 

The city has received complaints about both the sidewalk and road conditions.

The city will clear the sidewalks if there’s a grade difference between a person’s property and the road and if sidewalks are adjacent to bus stops, he said.

“We’ve seen an extraordinary amount of snow accumulation, like accumulation far beyond normal for December… so I think it’s the combination of multiple consecutive events in close proximity to each other and at a certain point, folks have to put snow somewhere,” he said.

If the weather holds, snow removal will commence Saturday night, Jan. 8, he said.

READ MORE: Major highways connecting Interior to Lower Mainland closed due to weather, avalanche risk

Louise Abbott, executive director for People in Motion covering the Central Okanagan, said whenever the Central Okanagan gets a large snowfall, and sidewalks aren’t cleared properly with large snowbanks, it’s hard to navigate for people with mobility challenges and those who have mobility imbalances.

“Even though sometimes people can drive in their car… often times the parking lots if they’re not cleared, it’s really tough.”

“It does create extra isolation at times,” she said. “I know when there’s a large snowfall it is a challenge to get everything just to the standard where people can navigate the sidewalks… people who need to use a wheelchair think twice.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022