- Hub staff

We hate to be the bearer of bad news on a sunny first day of spring, but winter will return sooner or later. There is no reason to think that the temperatures and the snow, rain, freezing rain, thaw and sleet will be any different next year. Nor will the number of reported slips and falls and fractures.

Jean Bell, mother of two young children, was walking to work along a city sidewalk last week. She slipped and fell not once but twice, and ended up leaving work for a wait of more than four hours at Emergency as pain and weakness developed. The next day Bell completed the City's on-line complaint form about her falls and her concern. She noted “had I been a senior, pregnant or carrying a toddler things could have been much worse.” She has not yet had a reply.

Today a new sign went up in Bell's neighbourhood, essentially warning pedestrians to walk at their own risk.

We fall a lot here in Grey-Bruce. According to a report prepared by Emily Powell of the Grey-Bruce Health Unit and presented to Owen Sound city council, fall-related emergency visits in the region averaged about 24 a day in the reporting period of 2012-2014. That is substantially higher than the provincial average, in every age group. Two to three of those visits a day ended in hospitalization, and
2 to 3 a month resulted in deaths. There are many risk factors beyond our climate, and many falls are preventable for those most at risk. It's likely the time to find sales boots rated highly by RateMyTreads.com.

Let's just imagine that our goal as residents of Owen Sound was to make the City as safely navigable as we can. Not to criticize city staff or our neighbours, not to point fingers or threaten with lawsuits, but to create a safe, walkable city all year round.

If that were our goal, would we put up signs warning walkers that we were not responsible for the sidewalks? Is “walk at your own risk” the best answer we can come up with?

We are inviting Owen Sound residents to speak with their council representatives and community members of the Operations and Community Services committees. Ask about opportunities to develop the best practices and strategies for keeping everyone upright when weather conspires to render us horizontal and broken.

And please let us know when you learn about those opportunities so your neighbours can join in.

Owen Sound's current Winter Maintenance policy.