We already by an extra tax to have our driveways cleared, we voted on it years ago that we would pay the extra tax for the driveways. So where did the money go – into general revenue and everyone was to forget the extra tax and would pay again?

There is a sidewalk across the street from my home, therefore all of the snow from the other side is plowed to my side. I will not pay to have my driveway cleared as it would be easy enough for me to clear if it was only half going to each side.

As it stands now the city is going to be owing me some pretty good $$$ since the loader removed a 10X20 patch of my lawn at least 6 inches deep.

Snow removal in PG is awful. Many roads are already impassible and the snow has only started.

I also thought we already pay to have the driveway clearing done.

So, if we get our road plowed 3X per year will we pay less than others who have their road cleared more often?

Forget it……they can stuff that recommendation somewhere!

This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the city usually gets around to clearing our roads 1-2 weeks after the snow has fallen (on school bus route no less).

By that time, the city blows large and heavy blocks of snow that feel like cement into my driveway. If they did it on time, it would be nice fluffy stuff that my snowblower could easily handle.

Instead I’m moving chunks of ice out of my driveway because the damn city can’t plow the roads in a timely manner. Why should I have to pay for that???

That’d be like them doing road repairs, dropping gravel blocking my driveway and saying “we can move that for you, for a price.”

I mention it wouldn’t be so bad if they did it on time because then I wouldn’t have to pay for it, because it would be easy to manage. Just thought I’d clarify ;)

That’s a joke,the only thing the windrow removal has done for me is damage my drive way surface and rip my lawn up. Plus you still have to shovel the windrow after the city loaders do their feeble attempt in clearing.

They come down our road once or twice a year to clear the end of the driveay. The other 50 times they just blow it onto my driveway as they blast past my house. If I don’t get to it right away, it sets up like concrete.

I used to live in Heritage. The road ended at my driveway and the grader could go left or right. They were dumping their blade hard on the last 50 or 60 feet to make the turn. All of that snow ended up on my driveway.

Your right Graymare, this has already been visited on Oct. 24th 2012 on this site.

Staff call for direction to develop budget

As it stands now, Staff say the City is looking at a possible 7.23% increase in taxes to _cover everything_ from contract agreements with the RCMP, firefighters and City Workers, to covering the already approved boosts to the road rehabilitation, snow removal and Winter Games budgets.

Sticky fingers with tax money is forever present in City Hall. Probable looking for spending money for China;]

Time for a change in city concill again.We dont vote ppl in WE VOTE THEM OUT.

That should read Oct. 24th 2011.
Sorry Graymare;]

So wait, they’re suggesting that the city send out a crew that has a list of homes that qualify for the windrow removing service? How is that efficient? The amount of time processing applications plus printing a new list every week plus crew time analysing and mapping their routes… I say it’s either an all or nothing affair.

I actually think the driveway clearing has a pretty major impact on the ability of the city to get the plowing done. When I used to live in PG I observed that it probably took the equipment 3 times as long to clear the driveways on my street than it did to plow the street. If they took the resources they currently spend on clearing driveways and used them for clearing streets, I’ll bet you’d see snow removal improve. Now of course, this is assuming those resources would be deployed, which doesn’t appear to be the case. It looks like they just want to cut the cost altogether and keep the same crappy snow removal standards, LOL.

Out here in Ottawa they do not clear driveways, but the snow removal services for the roads is so much better you can’t even begin to compare it. I sometimes wish they would clear driveways because the snow is often the wettest, heaviest, ice laden stuff you’ll ever see in your life. That said, I’ll gladly clear my own driveway for the tradeoff of having the street plowed by the time I wake up in the morning from a 6 inch overnight snowfall. Sidewalks are also done by morning. Main streets never get accumulations because the roads are pre-treated in advance of major snow and the plows run 24/7 to keep them clear.

in my area (a bus route) the streets do not often get cleaned until 3 or 4 days after the snow fall… and yes, the snow does clump together and makes it virtually impossible for me to scrape off the driveway. Also, I would be very unhappy to see the city neglect to clean the sidewalks… are my little children supposed to walk down the middle of the road?

Tired of hearing about Ottawa this, Ottawa that. Its obvious the seat of political power in this country is going to get preferential treatment. A rocket scientist isn’t needed to come to that conclusion. But this charge everyone for a service you rarely get is BS, the same as charging everyone for picking up garbabe whether you need the service or not.

3 or 4 days? Where do you live? I am lucky to see a grader or truck 4 times a winter and I live in the city boundaries. The only thing they have done this year is put a 3 ft windrow right down the middle of our street right to the end and turned around and left without even trying to push it to the side. That was a case of leaving well enough alone. If you can’t do the job correctly, then don’t do it at all.

“Tired of hearing about Ottawa this, Ottawa that. Its obvious the seat of political power in this country is going to get preferential treatment”

Huh? Do you think that the Prime Minister and his cabinet members head out to all of the suburbs to drive the plows OR do you think that perhaps those services are funded by the property taxes that are paid by the people and businesses that reside in Ottawa? Just in case you haven’t figured it out, it’s the latter . . .

The point is that if PG wants to improve their snow clearing, perhaps they should get outside of their box and look at cities that do it more effectively. There are probably at least 100 of them across Canada that do, but that would also mean PG would have to recognize that they are not the only “winter city” in this great land, LOL :)

SAVE MONEY SAVE MONEY SAVE MONEY!!!!
wait…. cut MY services?!?!?!
NO NO NO NO

sigh

Forgot to add that property taxes here are a fair bit higher than what you would pay in PG for a similar home. Perhaps there is a relationship between the level of service provided and what one pays for that service?

interceptor has it right . . .

Youths are criminals, RCMP is bloated and incompetent. Our justice System is a joke, CoPG are nefariouse tax wasters,
potholes are bad and change is scary.

banananhammock signing off

Awsome bananahammock, you realy summed it up!

Great work!

If they’re gonna block my driveway I’d rather they didn’t plow my street at all.

The Answer is to move away if you can, it looks to me PG has major Problems handling Winter .

If any of these recommendations are implemented who will be enforcing it the city has 5 bylaw enforcement people and they only look after the downtown core. The city is already famous for writing bylaws and have no enforcement of said bylaws in order to enforce they would have to hire more people and heaven forbid that they do that.

weaksauce: “If they’re gonna block my driveway I’d rather they didn’t plow my street at all.”

Agreed.

This is a leap of faith with regards to amounts generated. Really this is about reducing our services to the lowest common denominator.

What ya mean it was free up to now. I have not had them come by and clear it out in the last five years. How about a rebate.

my memory banks tell me years back we were voting on loaders cleaning the driveways or the additional cost of putting drop gates on the loaders like they have in mackenzie. we opted to pay the extra to have our driveways CLEARED by loaders. now they want to put an additional charge on, i would think they need to be told to honor past agreements.

Here we go again with the recycle idea. How about start on it now.

Don’t worry about plowing the windrow from my driveway, I would be happy to plow it myself because that would mean the city had actually plowed my road!!!!

Seniors and disabled will be exempt. I guess I’m not exempt. Time to file a human rights complaint. KPMG is recommending that the City discriminate against me because of my age and my medical condition.

I’d like to opt out of garbage pick up. Tell me how. Charter of Rights? Freedom of association?

I remember, not so long ago, being woken up in the middle of the night by the graders clearing our street and knowing full well that I would have to clear the end of the driveway before I could get out to go to work.

I survived – it’s part of the way of life; living in the north.

If the city implements a fee for clearing the end of the driveway, and you can opt out, they have signs that can be placed on either side of the driveway stating that you don’t want your driveway opened. They are free (for now!), so it would be very obvious as to which driveways they are not to do.

As for the overflowing garbage cans, I thought they were not to pick them up. A couple of missed garbage pick-ups might retrain those individuals.

I do see recyclables in with the garbage, so maybe it’s time to revisit a city-run recycle program?

I am dead against a charge for overfilled garbage cans … and I have never had mine overfilled.
How would you prove yours wasn’t too full? The garbage truck driver could just write down numbers and there would be no way to prove your case.
If they are really interested in seeing this problem rectified, simply refuse to pick up a can that is overfilled.
However, I don’t think the issue is one of trying to keep limits on our landfill. As always … it’s about the money.

as for myself I will choose a location to retire at and MOVE. it’s been a slice pg

A bit off subject,,but if you cant close the lid on your garbage can you need to get a bigger can or get and pay for two cans.

So to generate more cash your going to charge for clearing windrows..Could you show me the math cause if most folks opt out and seniors and disabled have it done anyways loaders are still going to be following graders and plows, are the drivers going to be paid for piece work? Are we still going to watching loaders,plows and graders driving across town with their blades up.I know city workers get a pretty nice paycheck and if it were a private company the boss would wanting production for the cost of running machinery.hmmmm

Vulgar Sage …… KPMG folks are not machinery operators. To them a driveway which has to be cleared is a cost and a driveway which does not have to be cleared is a saving. Simple.

As you point out, it is actually a bit more complex. Bean counters do not like complex.

KPMG and the city of PG can stuff it. I pay $2600 a year in city taxes and my street has no city sewer (but the streets all around mine do)… the least they can do is plow the side walks in a timely manor. My wife doesn’t drive and its just to dangerous for her to leave the house with the little ones with the way things are done around here. If I could ever sell my house I think I’d be outta here and move to a real city down south somewhere.