Increase in falls forces Montreal to redirect operations toward slippery sidewalks
The City of Montreal has had to slow down on snow removal operations in recent days to focus on slippery sidewalks after an increased number of people taking falls.
It's also been busy for the city's ERs, which are dealing with a higher-than-normal volume of weather-related falls due to the mix of snow, ice and rain in the last few days.
Seniors are especially at risk, explains emergency medicine specialist Dr. Mitch Shulman.
"These are accidents, and you can have them in young people or old people. The only reason why we disproportionately see older people is because of balance, strength and bone fragility," he said.
The city has also been inundated with 311 calls.
Last Thursday alone, there were 551 calls reporting icy sidewalks, prompting the city to increase its salting operations.
"The number of falls is always a big preoccupation, because no one should fall. Since the beginning, we’ve said that sidewalks are a priority, but it’s boroughs that take care of the different sidewalks in their borough. There’s more of a constant communication with them," said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.
"Last weekend, we did call and contact all the boroughs and told them if you have to slow down all the snow removal to make sure sidewalks are clean and safe, do it. So, we will continue to accompany the different boroughs. For sure, there’s always room for improvement."
While the city is responsible for clearing 6,000 kilometres of sidewalks, Shulman said many falls happen a lot closer to home.
"I ask people this: How well do you protect your own staircase, your own sidewalk, your own parking area? If you look at the statistics, a significant number of these falls aren’t on city property sidewalks and streets, a significant number are in parking lots and private driveways and walkways and stairs," he said.
Shulman said the best defence is to take your time and stay home when the weather gets bad.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Liberal government's own polling said Canadians worried about drug decriminalization
Months before British Columbia sought to scale back its drug decriminalization pilot project, the federal government's own polling suggested to officials that a majority of Canadians believed the policy would lead to an increase in overdoses.
Loblaw testing out small-format No Frills grocery stores
Loblaw is testing smaller-format discount stores across the country this year as shoppers increasingly look for ways to save on their grocery bill.
Doomsday plot: Jury convicts Idaho man of killing wife and girlfriend's 2 children
An Idaho man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife and his new girlfriend's two youngest kids in a strange triple murder case that included claims of apocalyptic prophesies, zombie children and illicit affairs.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.