Am I Parking My Car, Or Storming the Beaches?

Dear City of Calgary,

I know I said some mean things about your street cleaning policy that left the city side streets full of snow. At the time I was angry, because in my neighbourhood, this meant that two buses got stranded in the snow side-by-side for almost a week, cutting off traffic flow in one of our major exit routes, in addition to the other roads that were impassable due to accumulated snow, or the snow the plows had pushed forward at interactions.

Now however, as the warmer weather hits, I see a new stunning logic to your plan. Those mounds of snow piled up in the middle of interactions have transformed from snowdrifts into hard icy barricades, and the four feet of slush, snow, and ice on either side of the road have turned the parking lanes into a veritable No Man's Land. I often find myself wondering, am I parking my car? Or storming the beaches of Normandy? It really is thrilling to launch my car at a two foot ice ramp in the right hand turning lane, hoping my forward momentum will carry me out of the curious mix of gravel, sand, snow and ice awaiting me on the other side. It used to be finding a parking space was difficult - now there are places aplenty and every time I get back into my car I get the vicarious pleasure of worrying whether this will be time my car gets stuck. The little twinge of excitement and fear as I skid out into the street - truly one of life's little delights.

So thank-you City of Calgary, for making all this possible with your inefficient (if cost-saving) snow removal strategy.