I have lived in Prince George my entire life and with these years come some pro tips to help with your snow removal frustrations.
First off, I would like to say, I drive a small car. Now as a driver I understand the limitations of my vehicle. On the day that it snowed 25 centimetres, my car does not have 25 cm of clearance, so I know that I cannot drive. I want to because I have places to go but that is the knocks with driving a car in the North. Some days my fellow car drivers, you are stranded.
So pro tip number 1: If it has snowed more than the clearance from your bumper to the ground and you drive and get high-centred, that, my friends, is not the city's fault.
Pro tip number 2: Winter tires. If you cannot afford to buy them, then catch the bus in the winter. Winter tires are not an option. You live in the North and if you want that little car of yours to get anywhere this winter, then you need to get the car the proper rubber it needs to get moving on the snow and ice. Summer tires will not make that happen. If your vehicle is not winter-ready, then you are a hazard to other drivers and that is not the city's fault, it is your own.
Here is what happens: you pull out of your driveway in a vehicle that cannot possibly make it to its destination, you block traffic when you get stuck, you hold up other people's days as they stop to help push you out and the entire time they are trying to help you, you are complaining to everyone that will listen that the City of Prince George sucks.
It is a privilege to drive, not a right, especially if you're driving in an unwinterized vehicle that is a hazard to other drivers. It's funny that we totally understand personal impairment and respect that, but are clueless when it comes to vehicle impairment. Just as dangerous, people.
This discussion happens every single winter and Mayor Lyn Hall has been our mayor long enough for me to ask - knowing the snow removal issues as you do, how many pieces of equipment have we added to the Prince George snow removal roster the last five years to help amend this issue?
Dianna Young
Prince George
