Township worker's right to safety trumps snow-plowing steep hill

A Springwater resident’s request to have the municipal road in front of his house maintained over the winter may be quashed by the township’s joint health and safety committee (JHSC).

“The JHSC has recommended that winter maintenance on Old Second South, beyond Sutton Heights, be suspended due to the safety hazards to the public and township staff,” states a staff report that will be considered by council during tonight's closed-session meeting. “Further, that the top of the hill be signed “no maintenance,” consistent with the current sign at the location," the report stated. 

The report was co-written by public works director Grant Taylor and Jane Robitaille, who's the township's manager of people, safety, learning and employee relations.

On Oct. 11, 2023, township staff issued a work refusal to management regarding winter maintenance using the 4x4 truck to plow the hill, which is located near Little Lake, not far from the City of Barrie boundary.

A third-party consultant, Construction Workplace Safety Training (CWST), was retained by the township to investigate the work refusal and to provide recommendations to the township’s JHSC for providing this service, as directed by council. 

“On July 17, 2024, CWST and township staff presented their findings to the JHSC for their consideration and recommendation,” Taylor and Robitaille wrote in their report. “The JHSC issued their recommendation to management on Aug. 28, 2024, and it was recorded that the JHSC recommended the township suspend all maintenance, including winter maintenance operations, on Old Second South, beyond Sutton Heights.”

The township has two options, according to Coun. Brad Thompson. It can accept the JHSC recommendation, or reduce the grade of the hill.

"We really don't have a choice at this point," he said. "We're not going to put any of our employees at risk and the cost of doing work on the slope is cost-prohibitive."

That section of road has been flagged with "no maintenance" signs going back to amalgamation in 1994, Thompson noted.

It's one of a half-dozen roads in the township that have the designation.

According to the report, township council received a delegation in October 2022 from a resident of Little Lake Lane, who requested Old Second South be maintained in the winter due to a steep hill that connects Old Second South to Little Lake Lane. 

At the time, staff were directed to report back to council, outlining options and costs for maintenance and upgrades to the travelled section of the southern portion of Old Second South.

The existing slope of Old Second South, beyond Sutton Heights at the hill, is 8.3 per cent. Accepted engineering standards dictate the slope should not exceed six per cent for winter maintenance of the hill. 

A six per cent slope is consistent with Simcoe County’s standard and is less stringent than the township’s five per cent benchmark.

On April 19, 2023, staff presented a report to council that outlined a number of alternatives and requested council endorse staff’s recommendation to leave the roadway surface as is and ‘pilot’ the use of a 4x4 pickup truck, as a trial, for winter maintenance on this stretch of roadway.

At that meeting, council directed staff to report back on the cost implications for reconstruction of the road to a six per cent slope. 

“A reduction of the road slope from 8.3 per cent to six per cent would require a 5.5-metre change in road elevation,” the report stated. “While this is within engineering controls, a 5.5-metre change — through a combination of lowering the crest of the hill and raising the bottom — would conflict with the location of the dual (36-inch and 30-inch) Trans-Canada pipelines that traverse the hilltop immediately south of Sutton Heights.”

Following a meeting with Trans-Canada Pipeline in April 2023, township officials discovered that while it was possible to lower both of the pipelines, the pre-engineering cost estimate exceeded $10 million.

In May 2023, council deferred a decision until Sept. 6, 2023, when it finally endorsed the original staff recommendation. That was to leave the road profile in its current state and to pilot the use of a heavy duty, 4x4 pickup truck to do the hill's winter maintenance.

A month later, on Oct. 11, township staff issued the work refusal.

The township is required to respond to the JHSC by Sept. 25.