DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard
KAWARTHA LAKES: The Lindsay downtown area will be the beneficiary of increased snow clearing efforts this winter. At a recent meeting on Tuesday, November 17th, councillors saw a letter from Steve Podolsky, the Vice-Chair of the Lindsay Downtown BIA Board regarding snow and ice clearing. The letter stated, due to a current Kawartha Lakes bylaw “the winter maintenance and clearing of snow and ice from sidewalks in the downtown core is the responsibility of the property owner,” but this “creates inconsistencies in the level of service, and pressure on downtown businesses who may open later in the day, [or] are closed Sundays.” To remedy this situation, Kawartha Lakes council passed a motion to start a pilot project for the 2020/2021 winter season, which will see “Downtown Lindsay receive the same level of sidewalk service as other downtown areas in the City.” The motion also lowered the threshold for snowbank removal to 0.5 metres instead of 0.9 metres, and requested municipal staff to “apply a heightened level of service in back municipal parking lots during the winter months.” At the end of the pilot project, a report will come to council with its results in the second quarter of 2021. Mayor Andy Letham said, the city is “heightening [their] winter control in [their] downtown cores” this year, because they “think a lot more people are going to be spending the winter” in Kawartha Lakes due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Ward 5 Councillor Pat Dunn called this decision “a good start” and “far better than what [the City] had.”