City councillor Brian Skakun had a curt message for cranky callers. Leave City Hall alone and call him if you've got a problem with the way snow is being cleared.
"City council sets out the policy for snow removal. City crews are out there carrying out what we told them to do," he said. "City staff have been getting yelled at, hung up on, sworn at, and they do not deserve that kind of rude behaviour. Call me, if you want to sound off on someone."
The biggest complaints have to do with the perceived delays in clearing local streets, especially residential areas. Al Clark, manager of transportation for the City of Prince George, said crews would be almost done by now had secondary dumps of snow not been so thick they had to start again on the priority thoroughfares.
Clark said drivers have also put crews' safety and their own well-being at risk by ignoring the work of crews.
Some city drivers have chosen to pass snowplows on the right-hand side as they clear the left-hand lane, cruising through the plume of snow cascading off the blade.
Others have not realized that plow trucks delve over to clear turning lanes then come back out onto the main road. Some vehicles have been so close they were almost clipped during these manoeuvres.
"We are trusting drivers to slow down and be patient, particularly with our plow trucks," said Clark. "Please respect those flashing lights and give distance between yourself and the crews. If you do have to approach them during their work, make sure you keep it really slow and try to make eye contact with the people doing the work. Nobody wants to have anyone get hurt."
