Slip-and-fall complaints from icy sidewalks on the rise

The number of slip, trip and fall complaints on city sidewalks in January almost quadrupled compared to the same time last year, city officials said as they reminded residents to keep their footpaths safe for pedestrians.

In January 2016, the city received 34 complaints related to sidewalk conditions. That jumped to 132 last month, with the city already issuing about 865 tickets at $100 a pop for failing to clear sidewalks.

It is part of a noticeable trend associated to unusual freeze-thaw conditions in Edmonton over the past several years, says Troy Courtoreille, co-ordinator of the city’s general enforcement unit.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve noticed that January to February we get these incredible warm spells with double digit plus degrees when typically you’d be experiencing double digit minus degrees,” Courtoreille says.

Since 2014, January has proven to be a busy time for sidewalk clearing enforcement in the city.

In the 2014/2015 snow season — which the city measures between October and April — 1,665 tickets were issued out of a total of 9,180 investigations. Of those, 3,424 investigations were conducted in January.

The following year 1,422 tickets were issued for sidewalk snow and ice clearing infractions after 7,481 investigations. There were 3,261 investigations in the first month of 2015/16.

As of this week, a whopping 865 tickets have been issued at the completion of 4,826 investigations. Last month 3,404 investigations were undertaken.

“Sometimes citizens just don’t make that connection that it’s really dangerous, especially for the elderly,” says Courtoreille.

“We are a winter city but we also encourage being active and building pedestrian-friendly communities.”

One of the highest complaint areas in the city is the Garneau neighbourhood, Courtoreille says.

“We think it’s associated to higher than usual renter demographic in and around that area because of the university and renters just typically don’t have that vested interest in their community or safety because they don’t own the property,” he says.

Residents are required to keep their sidewalks free of snow and ice or face $100 a fine.

Following snowfall, residents are given 48 hours to ensure their sidewalks are clear of snow and ice.

If enforcement officers are tipped off or notice a dangerous path, they will issue a warning notice that gives residents seven days to take appropriate action.

A followup inspection is undertaken within 10 days of the first inspection and if a resident still doesn’t clear their sidewalk, they are fined and their address is sent to a city contractor who has between 24 and 48 hours to clear the offending area.

All costs associated with the cleanup are also charged to the resident.

On average, a nine-metre piece of sidewalk can cost $150 to clean.

“It’s the remedial action that really makes the process a little bit uncomfortable for a lot of citizens. We understand that, but ultimately if we have to clean the walks, we have to clean the walks,” he says.

Residents known to the city as repeat offenders are not given a warning letter and are simply ticketed and the contractor called.

Sometimes citizens just don’t make that connection that it’s really dangerous, especially for the elderly.