As the weather becomes colder, the sun goes down earlier, and the leaves on the trees fall, there is one important thing that every person can do to make the winter season bearable: shovel your damn sidewalks!
Every year, the city of Guelph tries its best to get on top of the constantly snowfalls to make sure the roads and sidewalks are cleared and salted. Unfortunately, they focus their efforts on main roads and often forget about side streets and small neighbourhoods. If you’re lucky enough to have a small tractor plow your sidewalks, you’ll also notice that they don’t do a great job. Instead of clearing the snow, they take off a small layer and compact the rest. With our constantly changing weather, the snow can melt and freeze in 12 hours.
That means black ice.
Don’t be one of those people who lets black ice affect your sidewalks because you think the city will get rid of it. Don’t be one of those people who neglects your sidewalks because your landlord is responsible for shovelling. Some landlords have a number of properties and are unable to take the time to ensure each property is properly cleared. It might be the law to have cleared sidewalks, but that doesn’t mean it’s always done well. If you have the opportunity, grab a shovel, plug in your headphones, and clear your damn sidewalks!
As someone who walks around the city, trying to navigate the tracks of tractors that are also covered in a thin layer of ice is incredibly dangerous. It’s even worse when the sidewalk has not been plowed at all. And falling on ice is the perfect way to ruin your day.
Don’t ruin someone’s day. You can very easily (and rather quickly) shovel your sidewalks. If you’re feeling extra kind, go to your neighbour’s house and clear their walkways and sidewalk, too.
Let’s work together to make the sidewalks of Guelph as bone dry as the main roads.
— Odesia Howlett
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