A BayToday reader is pointing out a dangerous sidewalk situation near the Cassellholme seniors building.
The sidewalk on nearby Cassells Street has become almost impassable, especially for those using walkers because the surface has become so icy and uneven.
"I have now seen many people taking to the roads, which is dangerous, rather than the sidewalks due to ankle-breaking conditions," the writer says.
The picture is Cassells street near Olive where many elderly must walk to access a grocery store to buy food and get prescriptions filled.
"I see this mess regularly and yesterday I had to take a picture," says the writer. "This is unacceptable. This sort of maintenance should be our city’s top priority, especially in this area. A twisted ankle for an older person may never heal."
Another reader told BayToday, "Olive St. W. has no sidewalk at all. There is a bicycle path going to the park, but seniors {who are the only people living here} have to resort to walking on the street around to Shaw to get to the grocery store. The other alternative is to take the icy sidewalk along Cassells to the grocery store or pharmacy. Many elderly people have walkers and wheelchairs which makes it impossible to navigate either paths.
"Crews were repairing a fire hydrant in that area earlier this morning," says City spokesman Gord Young. "It was sanded once the repair was completed, but another crew has been sent to add more sand."
After this story initially ran another reader contacted us.
"Many residents at Corpus Christi Court have complained to the city before about that section of sidewalk. I felt I needed to mention this to you because some were upset at city spokesperson, Gord Young's response at the end of your article yesterday. The hydrants are not on that side of the road where the pictures were taken. Most importantly though, this problem happens regularly. So to say it was a hydrant maintenance thing is a cop-out.
"This was NOT a situational mishap…. the sidewalk in that section is not properly maintained. It is often neglected."
