The City of Windsor may be changing its snow removal plan to include alleys.
The city's Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee has agreed to have administration take a look at changing a policy that leaves out residential alleys.
It's a decision that ward 4 councillor Chris Holt wants to see.
Some areas of the city don't have paved alleys at all, but Holt tells AM800 News many alleyways are used for parking and garbage removal in Windsor's older neighbourhoods.
"Not only do you have mounds of snow on the street to contend with to park, you also have all these extra cars that are getting moved from the rear access to the front access because we don't maintain it," he says. "I contend that there are different levels of service for different residents within the municipality."
He says many residents are coming to the city requesting permits for driveways in the front of their home, something that isn't permitted in many areas of the city.
"We say you can park in the alley so we're going to say no to all these things, but then we don't maintain the alley, which allows them to use it," says Holt. "It's one of those needling questions that's very frustrating to anybody that gets involved with it and I just want to get down to brass tax and figure out how do we solve this."
Holt hopes his fellow councillors recognize how frustrating the issue has become for some residents come budget time.
"Hopefully the other councillors in some of the wards that aren't dealing with this issue can see the plight of the core residents and that this is something serious. It's something they contend with on a regular basis," he says.
Holt says administration will prepare a report on changes to the existing snow removal by-law to be brought before council for the 2019 budget process.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi