Changes to City Snow Clearing will mean more dangerous roads and no real cost savings says CUPE 503
Ottawa, July 5, 2016 – On Wednesday, July 6, 2016 the Transportation Committee of the City of Ottawa will debate a report from the accounting firm KPMG that calls for major reductions in the level of winter road maintenance in Ottawa.
“As a former City of Ottawa snow plow operator, I am very concerned about these proposals to decrease the City’s standards for snow and ice clearing. I know firsthand how hard city snow plow crews work to keep our roads safe in the winter and these proposed cuts would make it much harder for them to keep the public safe” says James Watson, Vice President of CUPE Local 503.
The plan being put forward by the accountants of KPMG would mean that plowing and salting of city streets would start only after higher levels of snow had fallen. It would also increase by several hours the typical response time for salt trucks and plows to reach many of the bus routes and neighbourhood collector streets across the City…