'Trapped in their home': Aurora and Newmarket older adults want towns to provide driveway windrow clearing

While Georgina is launching a pilot project, Aurora and Newmarket have no plans to follow its lead

Thestar.com
Feb. 2, 2022
Lisa Queen

In the wake of the Jan. 17 storm that dumped more than 24 centimetres of snow in Aurora and Newmarket and with weeks of winter still to come, some residents want the towns to provide windrow clearing.

But while Georgina launched a pilot project Feb. 1 to clear windrows --hard-packed snow left at the end of driveways by plows -- for eligible residents in need, Aurora and Newmarket have no plans to follow suit.

Newmarket resident Gus Calderone and Aurora resident Lowell McClenny are older adults who believe the municipalities should clear windrows.

Calderone, along with his daughter, Nikki Nolan, a Midland resident who posted on Facebook about her father’s struggle to clean his windrow after the Jan. 17 storm, said the service should be available for older residents and those in need such as residents with disabilities.

McClenny argues windrow clearing would benefit all homeowners.

“I feel that the town should provide this service as the windrows are created by the town’s plows,” McClenny said.

“It is our property taxes that go toward keeping our streets clear of snow during the winter.”

McClenny posted about the issue on a community Facebook page a few days before the Jan. 17 storm but said the massive snowfall drove home his belief the town should clear windrows.

“This problem of large windrows has been a major problem for years. Everyone, including seniors, would greatly benefit from this service. This is not just a senior citizens problem,” he added.

“The snow and chunks of ice pushed into homeowners’ driveways and sidewalks is extremely heavy and it is difficult to remove/lift. Even with a snowblower, it is heavy and an effort to remove. Over and above that, the chunks of ice can cause an expensive breakdown to the snowblower which adds a problem to those on a limited income.”

The 81-year-old has diabetes, which limits the amount of physical work he can do, especially lifting.

McClenny is worried about first responders not being able to get to residents’ homes in emergencies, especially paramedics needing to use stretchers.

In Aurora, a proposal for windrow removal went to council in 2019 but was not approved, due primarily to the operating costs and the need to purchase specialized equipment.

The cost to clear windrows from Aurora’s 18,900 driveways would likely exceed $1.5 million, not including the cost of the equipment, a report said.

A 48-hour ice storm from April 13 to 15, 2018, requiring several rounds of snow plowing to remove significant accumulations of ice pellets, resulted in only 172 complaints from residents about windrow, the report said.

Vaughan’s windrow clearing program doubled the city’s snow plowing budget and increased taxes by about 2 per cent.

But while McClenny acknowledged nobody wants to see their taxes increase, he argues taxpayers routinely pay for services they may not use.

“Most seniors pay a school tax even though their children have long completed their elementary and/or secondary school education. The same is for parks and recreation facilities as not all seniors use those,” he said.

“However, we recognize It is part of living in a municipality that these need to be provided for. We must all pay taxes on things we don’t use. However, windrow clearing would benefit everyone.”

Aurora-based Community and Home Assistance to Seniors’ home adaptation and maintenance (HAMP) service has provided snow clearing for more than 2,000 clients in York Region and South Simcoe since 2009.

However, while the program includes windrow clearing during regular visits, service providers won’t return if municipal plows dump snow at the end of driveways after they have completed their calls.

CHATS CEO Christina Bisanz acknowledges windrows can distress older adults worried about emergency crews, transportation services and home care not being able to access their homes.

“The sight of a windrow can cause a feeling of literally being trapped in their home without assistance,” she said.

The Aurora Tigers offer shovelling services for $20 to $40. For more information, call or text Momager Meg at 416-948-5891.