Snow-clogged sidewalks leaving some Ottawa residents housebound

While heavy snowfall this week has people across Ottawa trudging through messy sidewalks and traversing thigh-high snowbanks, the winter weather has left many streetsimpassable for people who use wheelchairs to get around.

Sarah Trick has been virtually snowed in at her Gloucester apartment since Sunday, and with another big dump of snow coming mid-week, she's concerned she won't be able to get out to buy food.

"I'm a little bit worried considering there's another storm tonight that I might run out [of food] within the next couple of days, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she told Hallie Cotnamon CBC's Ottawa Morning.

The last time Trickwas able to leave home was Saturday, and only after a friend flagged down a passing bus for her because she was unable tomake it a block and a half through the snow with her wheelchair to the bus stop.

When her friends aren't around, she has to rely on the kindness of strangers to get her wheelchair unstuck from the thick, slushy snow.

"It can handle snow if it's like hard-packed snow, but if it's soft like what we've been getting lately, or the ice is too slippery, that's when it'll get stuck. So if everything freezes over, then it's usually okay, or if it's packed down," she said.

"But once you get soft drifts like what we've been getting lately, it won't go through it at all."

'I just find it confusing'

Trick wants the city to make ploughing sidewalks more of a priority for people who rely on wheelchairs to get around. She said the area around her building on Ogilvie is often neglected.

"I guess I just find it confusing as to why you wouldn't plough an entire area of sidewalk," Trick said."Or sometimes I think they try to plough the sidewalks, but then they end up ploughing the roads afterward, and the snow gets right back onto the sidewalk."

Para Transpo is a potentialoption, but in snowy winter weather spots on the specialized buses are in high demand, and when she calls, most are already booked up. She doesn't like taking her wheelchair onto busy Ogilvie Road because of traffic.

With more snow on the way, Trickhopes to see more city crews out clearing sidewalks.

"I definitely think they could be ploughing a little bit more often and being more careful about where they plough the snow to."