Cambridge promises to review its snow removal response this winter

Cambridge council has unanimously agreed to a review of its snow clearing efforts this winter, following criticism of its maintenance operations.

Cambridge is going to take a closer look at its snow removal efforts following a slew of complaints from residents about the state of the city’s streets and sidewalks.

At a meeting Thursday night, council unanimously approved Helen Shwery’s request to review Cambridge’s winter maintenance operations.

“How will we address these concerns to prioritize resident safety and expectation? And what does operations need to achieve this?” she asked.

City Manager Rob Axiak admitted this year’s response fell short of expectations.

“We recognize that the systems and resources we had in place were not sufficient to manage the severity of this winter, particularly the back-to-back storms,” he told council. “We do know that we need to improve and we’re committed to improving how we prepare and respond.”

Officials said road maintenance crews have been working relentlessly to keep up with this season’s snowfall.

Snow struggles

The most recent plea for patience came on Jan. 23.

“Crews have been deployed on an ongoing basis this month as we have had at least triple the amount of Snow Events so far in January,” the city said in an email to CTV News.

The snow clearing response on Bugdale Drive fell short of Robert Longphee’s expectations.

“We have not seen our streets addressed in seven weeks. If a plow has come by, it is not done what it’s needed to do to get the job done.”

Longphee said the street still had a layer of hard-packed snow over the asphalt.

“They’re skimming centimeters of snow as they come by, rarely dropping salt or sand on our roads.”

Minimum maintenance standards for municipalities require residential roads to have a minimum width clearance to allow vehicles to pass, but they don’t require a bare surface.

Shawn Hass shared his experience with CTV News on Feb. 5. He said he had been stuck in his home for almost a month because his powerchair could not get through the snow-covered sidewalks. As a result, Hass couldn’t make it to critical medical appointments or social gatherings.

“I’m basically stuck in my house until whoever — whether it be the city or the region — figures out how they can get this done,” he said. “It’s making me feel like I’m in my own prison. Or my house has become my prison because I can’t get out.”

In a statement to CTV News, the city’s director of operations said they were working on solutions with staff and contractors to resolve the issues raised by Hass and other residents.

Even paramedics have run into problems. In February, one of them had to dig out their own ambulance after the vehicle got stuck in the snow while responding to a call on Langs Circle.

The city, meantime, has expressed concerns about increasingly aggressive behaviour, and occasionally abusive treatment, towards their employees.

“What we’re finding is that commentary is actually leading to hate and a lot of harassment that’s happening online, all starting from a piece of misinformation or disinformation,” Axiak said on Feb. 5. “We’ll have people run out of their house at operators, in the middle of the night, [and] throw things at them. There’s pretty concerning or harassing-type behaviours that are coming out as a result.”

Another contentious issue has been the city’s recent social media campaign featuring AI-generated characters with names like Peter Parks Too Long, Chris Cruise Control and Ivan Impatient. While some residents felt it was dismissive of their snow clearing concerns, the city insisted it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and generate conversation.

What’s next

The review could take months but any recommendations that come out of it are expected to be presented to city council by the fall.