As I write this, it's Saturday morning and the first serious snow of the season has been falling on the Virden area for more than 12 hours. Today, a major figure skating event happens at Tundra Oil & Gas Place with skaters, their families and coaches arriving from all across Manitoba to compete.
Yet, there’s no roaring sound of snow plows disturbing the snow-muffled streets.
Why does it take the Town so long to get the snow plows out onto the streets, making them passable for vehicles and pedestrians?
Why are vehicles sliding through intersections that are still unsanded days after a snowfall? What message does that send to visitors and residents alike?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Exhibit A: Hamiota, population 850. A friend who lives there reports their streets and (oh my!) even sidewalks are cleared of snow long before Virden's plows hit the pavement. Unlike Virden, their equipment works through the night.
Exhibit B: Elkhorn, population 480. A woman who lives in Elkhorn and often drives to Virden said, “I think Elkhorn does a great job… Even our back lane is plowed. The village has a small plow that does the sidewalks! Compared to Virden streets and sidewalks, we’re doing pretty good.”
It's hard to understand why a town with almost four times the population of Hamiota and six times that of Elkhorn can't do better.
After last year's blizzard, many Virden streets were still impassable three to four days later. Cars were stranded in their driveways or stuck in drifts.
And forget about traversing back lanes at all in winter unless you're prepared to pay a private plow operator.
At a time of year when we all struggle to get enough exercise and fresh air, a lack of prompt and adequate snow clearing turns many people, especially seniors and the disabled, into shut-ins. The fear of falling can be almost as crippling as falling itself.
Now, I'm not old and frail yet. But a few years ago, while taking slow, shuffling, old lady steps to cross a wicked intersection festooned with waves of ice - actual frozen waves - I wound up flat on my back.
As I lay there looking up at the night sky, trying to decide if those were real stars or signs of a concussion, I had some time to think.
What I thought was this:
Someday I will be old and frail and I don't want to be housebound for six months of the year.
I don't want a broken hip that will isolate me and possibly hasten my demise, as serious injuries often do to the elderly.
I don't want to be afraid to walk in winter.
Then I cursed a few times, got up and limped home.
There's a time and place for fiscal responsibility. Town councillors do a great job plowing through thousands of line items at budget time.
When they encounter unnecessary frills, they chop them from the budget and we applaud them for that.
But when you live in a land where winter is a harsh and unwavering fact of life, snow clearing is not a frill.
And when you live at a time when the population is aging and obesity is rampant, we should be having a serious discussion with our municipal leaders about ways to make our community accessible and safe all year round.
