VANCOUVER — Free salt has become a hot commodity in Vancouver as some residents clamour to get more than their fair share to keep icy sidewalks safe during an unusually cold winter.
The city is offering residents two buckets of salt, which was to be available at 10 fire halls today.
But Capt. Jonathan Gormick of Vancouver Fire and Rescue says the salt disappeared Tuesday night at some sites within an hour of being delivered.
He says a firefighter had to stop at least one person from getting a bit too greedy after free salt was loaded into garbage bins and heading for the back of a pickup truck.
Gormick expects the man may have intended to sell the salt online because stores have run out of it.
Snow, followed by slush and falling temperatures turned streets into skating rinks, which has resulted in the demand for salt.
FREE SALT CAN BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING FIRE STATIONS:
Fire Hall #3 – 2801 Quebec Street
Fire Hall #4 – 1475 W. 10th Avenue
Fire Hall #7 – 1090 Haro Street
Fire Hall #12 – 2460 Balaclava Street
Fire Hall #13 – 4013 Prince Albert Street
Fire Hall #14 – 2804 Venables Street
Fire Hall #15 – 3003 E. 22nd Avenue
Fire Hall #17 – 7070 Knight Street
Fire Hall #19 – 4396 W. 12th Avenue
Fire Hall #22 – 1005 W. 59th Avenue
Residents are advised to bring their own bucket and shovel to the fire stations and take a maximum of two buckets.
Let It Go: Uncommonly Cold Winter Has Vancouver Fire Halls Offering Residents Free Salt
Jerry Dobrovolny, Vancouver's general manager for engineering services, says 10 fire halls will have de-icing salt available starting Wednesday for locals who can't find any at local stores.
So far this winter, the city has gone through about 7,000 tonnes of salt, which is seven times the average amount used in each of the previous two winters.
"I'm confident right now that we'll have enough salt," Dobrovolny told reporters outside city hall on Tuesday. "But we're using an awful lot of it, and we're using all of our resources to get more."
Last month, Vancouver was hit with its first significant snowfall in more than two years. It was followed by several more rounds of snow and a plunge in temperatures that Environment Canada forecasted would not lift until mid-January.
To deal with what Dobrovolny described as the "unusual, sustained, cold weather pattern," Vancouver has halted all non-emergency construction and reassigned more than 300 city workers to various weather-related jobs.
About 150 additional staff are helping salt, sand and plow residential streets. Around 115 people have been deployed to help sanitation crews collect refuse and about 50 more will help enforce a bylaw that requires businesses and residents to clear walkways by 10 a.m. the day after a snowstorm.
Dobrovolny could not say how many tickets had been issued, but said the city had launched 36 court actions so far, mostly against strata councils and businesses. Residents and businesses are typically given written warnings before being ticketed or taken to court, he added.
A flurry of photos and videos posted to social media appear to show ice-ridden roads and walkways across Vancouver, as well as some residents lacing up their skates for a game of hockey or a zip around rink-like roadways.
Anna Marie D'Angelo, a spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health authority, said the number of emergency department visits at Vancouver General Hospital are not out of the ordinary for this time of year.
"In Vancouver, unless you have a long cold snap, you don't start to see the people who are kind of frail and unsteady on their feet ... go out in this kind of weather," D'Angelo said. "They stay home."
For people with mobility restrictions, including residents who are older or who have a physical disability, precarious sidewalks pose a serious hazard, said disability advocate Jane Dyson.
Dyson said she can't remember such challenging winter conditions in the eight years since she became executive director of Disability Alliance B.C.
"We all know that Vancouver and the Lower Mainland is not used to snow, but we've had this snow now for three or four weeks and the sidewalks continue to be treacherous," Dyson said.
"I'm not a person with a physical disability but I'm actually nervous to walk on some of the sidewalks around where I live. It's just so icy."
