Nicolle Hodges | [email protected]
Jasper鈥檚 new snowblower has made a big difference in the speed a crew can clear the roads - and that鈥檚 both a blessing and a curse.
On Tuesday, Jasper Municipal Council debated how to improve communication to the public about parking restrictions due to snow removal - and not because it鈥檚 being done slower, but faster.
Road clearance that once took two days, two crews, two loaders and eight dump trucks, can now be done in three hours with one loader and five trucks, explained director of Operations John Greathead.
But that means taking five working hours to individually place signs on sections of Jasper鈥檚 street network to give residents 24 hours notice for snow removal is no longer effective.
鈥淔or us to be efficient, we need voluntary compliance,鈥� Greathead told the council.
鈥淚mproved signage is not happening.
鈥淲e cannot put out that kind of work for pre-notification for something that now takes us an hour.鈥�
The proposed solution? Using designated signs on the streets in either red or blue and then disseminating that information to the public on a daily basis.
The intent is to use one-inch, high visibility tape - a small band across a street post or fire hydrant - as a visual indicator of the blue or the red side, and then programming message boards to say something along the lines of 鈥減lease park on the red side鈥� as the crew clears the blue side.
The idea was well-received.
Councillor Rico Damota said: 鈥淚 love this. It鈥檚 simple and easy and cost-effective.鈥�
Mayor Richard Ireland said: 鈥淚 am totally in support of you trialing whatever you think will work.鈥�
The next question was how to best alert the public, which is when creative ideas began flying with none really landing.
An app with a map that shows what streets are blue or red makes sense but alienates those without a phone or who are not particularly 鈥渢ech-savvy.鈥�
Building a website that hosts all the road鈥檚 safety information also sounded apt, however, it puts the onus on the public to seek the information instead of bringing it to them.
How about a newsletter? A Twitter account? Putting a strip of colour across the top of an already established website, like the 51暗网?
Councillor Jenna McGrath reminded the room that while the information should be simple to receive, not everyone has the technological means to receive it.
鈥淟et your neighbours know that today the blue side of the street is being cleared, and tomorrow it will be red,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e need to encourage neighbours to look after one another.鈥�
Until an effective means of communication is established, for now, residents will have to take the winter roads, and parking conditions to clear them, day by day - be it red or blue.
As for the municipality鈥檚 message to residents: 鈥淧lease bear with us; we鈥檙e relearning how to do this and there are growing pains.鈥�
