WOODLANDS COUNTY – At the Wednesday, Dec. 18 Woodlands County Council Meeting Jeff Zhang, Infrastructure Services Director, spoke about a snow clearing safety concern.
There have been two incidents where buried power extension cords, unseen by the sweeper equipment operator, became entangled in the machine.
Woodlands County Council carried a motion to hand deliver a letter to hamlet residents to advise them of the hazardous situation.
There are between five to eight power cords laying across sidewalks in each of the hamlets in Woodlands County when operators have been out to clear the sidewalks of snow.
“We have an obligation to take all precautions necessary to protect the health and safety of every worker,” remarked Zhang.
“If an existing or potential hazard to workers is identified employers must take measures to eliminate or control the hazard.”
The power cords can cause electrocution to the equipment operator, tripping hazards to pedestrians walking on the sidewalk and could potentially lead to property damage of the sweeper, equipment, vehicles or homes.
Zhang explained that the power cords are used by residents who have vehicles parked on the street to plug-in their vehicles.
The power cords can easily be covered by snow and are an unseen hazard.
Residents may not consider the power cord as a hazard to anyone using the sidewalk or when operators are attempting to clear the sidewalk of snow.
There currently is no bylaw in place restricting the use of power extension cords.
When Woodlands County personnel is out to clear snow, they could put out the signs that all vehicles have to be removed to street cleaning but that does cause 24-hour delays in clearing snow accumulation.
Residents, where power cords are left across sidewalks, may not have snow cleared in front of their homes because of the hazard.
People can be cautious on sidewalks through the winter because of snow and ice accumulation but a power cord strung across the public sidewalk is not necessarily an obstacle that is easily seen or avoided.
Residents can take actions to clear power extension cords from public walkways to reduce the chances of a hazard incident or the cord being buried or obstructing the sidewalk.
There are 400 residents in Fort Assiniboine and Blue Ridge that will receive the letter.
