Ontario couple says complaint prompted town to plow their sidewalk for 1st time in 10 years
An Ontario couple said they were shocked to find a portion of the sidewalk in their neighbourhood suddenly cleared of snow for the first time in nearly a decade after making a complaint to their elected officials on social media.
Michael and Jodi Bruno told CTV News Toronto that a patch of sidewalk on Old Colony and Cobblestone Drives in Whitby, Ont. accumulates a foot-high ridge of snow formed by plows after every significant snowfall.
The couple said the sidewalk is used by much of the community and that they've asked the city to clear it in the past.
"For me, it’s more about the community and keeping residents safe, that they can get to their local mailbox, or students or other residents can get to the transit to walk and be safe," Michael told CTV News Toronto Friday.
While the Town of Whitby said the Bruno's neighbourhood is part of their regular plowing routine, the couple said the spot hasn't been cleared since they moved to the area 10 years ago.
Last week turned out to be the last straw, the couple said.
“My two daughters and I and my dogs were trying to cross over,” Jodi said, pointing to the snow ridge. “And this walkway, it wasn’t plowed, so I began to walk along the street, my children began to climb up over and so did my dogs. I tried, and I fell.”
Michael then shovelled the spot covering the sidewalk and took before and after photos. On Monday, he emailed them to the town and posted them on social media. Writing, “Who do I send the bill to?”
“They can send me a gift card to Tim’s or Starbucks or even just a written thank you from the town would be nice,” Michael said.
On Friday, CTV News Toronto reached out to the Town of Whitby, its Mayor and regional councillors.
The town confirms soon after those requests, crews were deployed to the spot and cleaned the sidewalk.
“As far as I know it’s never been cleared in all the years that I’ve lived here,” Michael said.
“They came by and cleaned the path to double the size I cleaned it and salted it,” he continued.
The town said it encourages residents to use its new winter reporting form for issues that need to be looked into quickly and extended its thanks to Michael for submitting his photos.
“It’s just shocking it had to get this far for them to do the proper maintenance of snow removal that they should be doing," Michael said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.