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Vancouver senior disgusted at being snow-bound |
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Written by Camille Bains, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Monday, January 05 2009, 6:56 PM |
VANCOUVER — Residents and officials are struggling to deal with that most Canadian of inconveniences — snow — following near-record snowfall in this West Coast city in recent weeks.
And one senior who spent a week stuck in her home because she couldn’t get around the piles of snow in Vancouver says she’s disgusted that the city hasn’t done a better job clearing the streets.
Florence Corbett, 68, said she was finally able to get out Monday morning after her landlord arranged for someone to give her a ride to a bus stop so she could make it to the bank to pay her rent — five days late.
“I was able to take the bus but when I got off the bus I fell down because of the snowbank,” said Corbett, who uses a scooter to get around.
“It’s disgusting, no other words to describe it.”
Corbett said she’s been lucky because someone from the B.C. Coalition of People With Disabilities, where she volunteers, delivered groceries to her home.
Others who’ve been left to fend for themselves haven’t fared so well in a city unused to dealing with snow that sticks around. While Vancouver does get some snow, it usually melts almost as quickly as it falls.
“The city sure doesn’t look after us as far as cleaning the streets,” Corbett said.
“You can’t walk through the snow. What if you fall down? I’m a senior and if I fall down I don’t want to be breaking anything.”
Corbett, whose husband drove her around before he died 10 months ago, said she’s never experienced such isolation.
“What about people who are in wheelchairs, permanently, and they can’t get out? They’d love to go to the mall and see their friends,” she said, adding even a bus ride can be dangerous.
“It’s ridiculous the way they’ve cleared the streets because (bus drivers) can’t even lower the ramp so that you can get on the bus. And when you get off the bus, even when you’re an abled person, you can fall down because of the snowbanks. It’s the way the snow is piled up on the curbs.
“I’ve seen many people fall when they get off the bus.”
Vancouver’s snowfall for December was just .7 centimetres shy of the December 1964 record, only because yet another dump of snow didn’t arrive until a few hours into Jan. 1.
The snow and cold weather caused at least three deaths in the Vancouver area and left emergency vehicles, including a fire truck and ambulance, stuck in the white stuff.
City spokeswoman Jennifer Young said this year’s snow removal budget was $1.4 million, but the total cost is expected to reach double that.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said crews have made an extraordinary effort to keep up, although Coun. Suzanne Anton will introduce a motion on Jan. 20 about whether the city can do a better job in the future.
“There’s some people who have been stuck in their homes for three weeks with no city services. They cannot get in, they can’t get out, they can’t get a taxi to come in, they can’t get garbage pickup, they can’t get grocery delivery.”
Anton said the city needs to be prepared for the next time.
“We have some very significant gaps in our service delivery in this kind of snow event and I think we need to hear from the public about that.”
In 1999, then Toronto mayor Mel Lastman became the butt of jokes when he called in the army to help clear the snow in that city so people could get to buses and streetcars, saying the city would otherwise have been at a standstill.
But Shelley Hourston, program director at the B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities, said she will be speaking to city officials about providing resources for people who become isolated in their homes during massive snowfalls.
“It’s been horrendous for people,” she said.
“Their community is when they go for their walk to go get their loaf of bread or their litre of milk. I think this has really raised some issues for Vancouver.”
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