Thunder Bay, Burlington, Windrows and Civic Darwinism

 

Winter is approaching and it continues that compared to Thunder Bay, some southern Ontario municipalities are way ahead of the game when it comes to dealing with the lethal combination of climate change and aging populations.  In recent years, Thunder Bay has been getting heavier and wetter snowfalls which in the aftermath are quickly compacted into thick ice on residential streets.  Once the city snowploughs come through the neighborhood, usually several days after the snowfall, the result is a windrow at the end of one’s driveways.  Notwithstanding the snow already in one’s driveway, increasingly, we are not looking at six inches to a foot of snow left behind but massive walls of ice and snow which even a heavy duty snowblower is challenged to deal with.  The result for young and old alike is a period of massive exertion to exit one’s driveway which increasingly has been found to culminate in cardiac events not conducive to one’s longevity.

 

Now this blog has brought the issue of windrows up before but obviously to little avail in Thunder Bay.  A 2021 blog post noted that even Ignace Ontario was apparently getting its municipal snow grader outfitted with a “snowgate” while at the time it was noted that other cities in southern Ontario such as Richmond hill, Markham and even Toronto had windrow removal programs in place.  To this list can now be added the City of Burlington Ontario which according to a story in the Hamilton Spectator appears to have moved beyond a targeted windrow removal program (for seniors or people on disabilities) to a more general program that naturally comes at a charge.  As the story reads:

 

Burlington city council has approved enhancements to its program to clear snow left behind by plows, including increasing the number of available spots from 200 to 1,000 driveways.

In addition, service boundaries will expand to include all areas of the city.

As part of the city’s windrow program, crews will clear windrows within 36 hours of snowfall stopping and within 12 hours of residential road plowing. A windrow is the pile of snow that is left at the bottom of driveways by roadway plows.

Residential road plowing only occurs after accumulation of 7.5 centimetres or more of snow. Windrow-clearing services will run from Dec. 1, 2023, until March 31, 2024. A non-refundable fee of $125 plus HST per driveway entrance for the entire season must be paid at the time of registration.

In years past, the program was only offered to people with disabilities and individuals unable to clear their windrows. As part of the program’s expansion, the city now has the capacity to offer spots to any resident.

The city will continue to focus on providing spots to people with disabilities. Previous registrants will be contacted over the next week to secure a spot in the program. Following that, advanced registration for people with disabilities will open on Oct. 5 at 9 a.m. Registration for residents city-wide will open on Oct. 19 at 9 a.m.

 

Now, one is not asking for the city of Thunder Bay to provide free windrow removal.  After all, Thunder Bay has pretty clearly stated what its priorities are when it comes to tax funded or assisted municipal services.  While Thunder Bay does spend one of the highest per capita amounts of major Ontario cities, it has chosen to prioritize three things: general government, police, and fire services.  Indeed, of 27 major Ontario municipalities, Thunder Bay historically spends the most dollars per capita of its of its tax levy supported operating budget on these three items.   Indeed, historically nearly 60 percent of Thunder Bay’s operating tax levy is spent on these three items - again, the highest of these 27 major municipalities.  However, the City of Thunder Bay does not even appear interested in pursuing an approach like that of Burlington where one could essentially pay for the windrows to be removed so after the residential street is ploughed.  It is probably too entrepreneurial an approach for a gvoernmental body in Thunder bay to attempt.  On the other hand, given Thunder Bay’s municipal cost structure, one suspects that even if such a service were offered, it would be substantially more expensive than what Burlington is planning to offer.

 

So, there you have it.  Winter is coming and with it Thunder Bay’s survival of the fittest approach to retirement living.  

 

 

Why Can Ignace Get Nice Things and Not Thunder Bay?

 

It turns out that Ignace is getting its municipal snow grader outfitted with a “snowgate”.  Essentially, the snow plough is going to have a gate on it that lowers at the end of the blade when in front of a driveway thereby preventing snow from blocking the driveway while snow on the street is removed. Needless to say, the thought of not having to deal with a foot high pile of crushed ice and snow at the end of a driveway after a major storm makes winter much more bearable. However, given it is budget season, one wonders how expensive this might be?

 

As noted in the CBC story: “The gate cost $15,000, and is easy to operate, Taylor-Hertz said. The operator of the grader flips a switch, and the gate lowers when going in front of a driveway. Once past the entrance, the gate comes up, pushing snow to the side of the road. ‘A couple of our department heads got together, and talked about getting a snowgate for the snowplow, or the grader attachment, and it has alleviated a lot of problems for our elderly residents in our community, by taking the windrow away at the end of the driveway’."

 

The “snowgate” is of course essentially a windrow prevention program as opposed to a windrow removal program but in Thunder Bay it is apparent our municipal government is capable of neither.  The possibility of windrow removal in Thunder Bay is not a new issue.  During the 2020 municipal budget season, this very idea was discussed in Northern Economist but to no avail.  As noted on their web site by the City:

"No, windrows across driveways will not be cleared by City Crews. Residents are responsible for the maintenance associated with their driveway, including the portion that is on City property. It is that portion of the City property which has been designed to provide snow storage during the winter. The City does not give up the right to store snow in that area of the boulevard when it allows the residents’ driveway to encroach across City property. It is important to note City crews have the important task of plowing snow on all City streets as quickly as possible. Snow removal from driveways is not a program offered by the City. "

 

Apparently, our driveways over the boulevard to access the street are an "encroachment" on City property so they can do whatever they want with the land.

 

And of course, it is not just Ignace that seems to be adept enough to cater to the needs of its municipal ratepayers.  Richmond Hill has the Cadillac of programs and now removes the windrows on all residential driveways.  Richmond Hill windrow removal was implemented in 2019 for all 55,000 households for a total annual cost of $4.4 million dollars. Markham also does windrow removal but for qualified registered applicants who must either be over 60 years of age or if under 60 have a medical note saying they cannot shovel snow.  Even Toronto has some windrow removal depending on where you live in the city. 

 

While one does not expect the Richmond Hill program, it remains that when it comes to windrow removal, Thunder Bay is not even trying. Why?  That is a good question.  After all, when it comes to municipal spending, Thunder spends one of the highest amounts per capita across major Ontario municipalities.  How onerous might the total cost of $15,000 per city plow be given a $200 million dollar tax levy supported budget?

 

The answer is it is all about priorities.  While Thunder Bay does spend one of the highest per capita amounts of major Ontario cities, it has chosen to prioritize three things: general government, police, and fire services.  Indeed, of 27 major Ontario municipalities, Thunder Bay spends the most dollars per capita (about $1,000)  of its tax levy supported operating budget on these three things as illustrated in Figure 1.  Indeed, nearly 60 percent of Thunder Bay’s operating tax levy is spent on these three items - again, the highest of these 27 major municipalities.  

 

 

 

However, as we all learn in first year economics, given a fixed budget, more of one thing results in less of something else.  As a result, as shown in Figure 2, once police, fire and general government are removed from its spending, Thunder Bay spends the second lowest amount of the same 27 major Ontario municipalities and the lowest of the five major northern Ontario municipalities.  That means relative  to other cities, less money is spent for snow removal, parks and recreation, public transit, environmental services and numerous other things.

 

 

 

How can this be?  In the wake of my last colorful comparison using marine metaphors, think now of the City of Thunder Bay as a Roman war galley.  The municipal taxpayers are the galley slaves at the bottom of the galley propelling the City forward with their property taxes while sloshing about in the cascading bilge water provided by innumerable leaky pipes.  On the top deck, along with the municipal council gathered around their decision table sitting comfortably on their high chairs, are the neatly arrayed officers of the ship – police, fire and administration standing between the elevated stern of a new Turf Facility and a prow marked by a new police station.  They are looking proudly forward as they steer the ship into the wild blue fiscal yonder. One can almost hear the beat of the budget drum as the municipal council intones to the ratepayers in their best imitation of Quintus Arrius that “We keep you alive to serve this ship. Row well and live.”

 

You would like a “snowgate” you say?  Don’t be silly.  The City of Thunder Bay has already decided what we need.  Keep rowing.