EDITOR:
I have heard many people in government senior housing complain about having to shovel so much snow before they can get into their cars.
I, for one, have ranted too. I honestly believed when I got into senior housing there would be NO shovelling. Luckily, a neighbor has helped me in the past.
The truck/plow comes in and plows behind all of the cars. Most plow operators do not or cannot get close to the back of the vehicles. For the senior shovelling, there is always snow piled up behind each car from the plow. The snow could be two feet high, the width of the car, and four feet more behind.
Snow is usually pushed to the other side of the parking by the shoveller who is often unable to lift. There is always another two feet of space between the cars, which also has to be shovelled to get car doors open.
Many seniors do not have family to shovel them out. Some cannot afford to pay $20 to have it shovelled after every snowfall. Some seniors have various health issues: recent surgery, bad hearts, poor breathing and bad backs.
Each building is on a schedule and seniors can’t always meet that schedule. When the plow makes an appearance to clear the parking spaces, there is not a lot for them to plow. There is very little snow under the cars. I am simply amazed that young government workers never lift a shovel in their parking lots. Seniors have to shovel their guts out to get theirs cars in and out just so the big plow can clear an almost a bare parking space.
Use the big plow for the roadways in and out and get small snowblowers to get the individual car out.
The government is paying for all kinds of huge vehicles to do the plowing but these big vehicles are not a lot of help to the senior car owner.
Flora J. Thompson,
Charlottetown