A Sarnia resident is concerned the city is not doing enough to plow sidewalks during the winter.
Sean Finch will address Sarnia council during a delegation Monday, proposing the budget be increased to clear all 328 km of city sidewalks.
A staff report says purchasing the equipment, maintenance costs and hiring staff would total over $1.2-million annually.
Mayor Mike Bradley says the city currently maintains 152 km of sidewalks in high priority areas.
"That includes the hospitals and the commercial areas, and we'll continue to do that," he says. "But we have limited resources and that's one of the balancing acts that every council has to face, that all of the things you would like to do versus what you can practically do."
Mayor Bradley adds it's a hard proposal to justify when Sarnia's climate receives only two to four storms a year.
Other municipalities currently clearing all sidewalks of snow include Ottawa and Sault St. Marie, although Bradley notes cutbacks are being made in that municipality.
Finch believes it becomes a liability issue for the city when young students, like his daughter, are forced to walk on the road when sidewalks aren't cleared.
