City repairs curb reported damaged 28 years ago 16 years earlier than scheduled

Tyrone Bay resident Calvin Hawley finally has some curb appealback on his street.

Last week a crewhired by the city of Winnipeg repaired some curbs on the St. Vital street Hawley had first flagged as broken to thecity in 1993. It was damaged by a city snow removal machine.

The years-long journeyto get the work done peaked in 2019 when Hawley was given a number through the city's 311 line to check his file and requestitsaid his curb would be repaired by June 26, 2037.

That would have made for a 44-year wait for the repairs to be completed.

Hawleywas surprised but pleased last week to see a crew actually doing the work.

"Holy you-know-what, they're actually here!" wasHawley's reaction to the arrival of the workers, but says beating the target date by 16 years doesn't absolve the city of an opaque 311 service.

"It's frustrating because you get a response like that and you don't know why, and there is no recourse, no opportunity to inquire about it, because you don't have an opportunity to talk to somebody directly in the department," Hawley said.

Hawley, who is a retired provincial civil servant, tries to be balanced over his criticism of the city's slow pace to do the work, saying bureaucrats work hard and meet many deadlines.

"I don't honestly believe they were gonna wait until 2037, but if they had,we'd be having a very different conversation. There are warts on everything. This happened to be one of them," Hawley said.

The St. Vital residenthad praise for the crew that ultimatelyfixed the curbs on his bay, saying they were done well and quickly andalso credited the area councillor Brian Mayes for pursuing the public works department to do the job sooner than 2037.

"He certainly is, I think, a large part of why we're seeing the work done now instead of 16 years from now," Hawley said.

Mayesappreciated the compliment, but was at a loss to explain why the work took so long to complete.

"You shouldn't have to wait 37 years or 42 or whatever it was going to be. Too bad it took this long, but very pleased we got it done now," Mayes said.

The St. Vital councillor says the city has stopped the process of setting target dates for repair work decades ahead.

The city has alsostarted a process to review the city's 311 service and long wait times for services.

Mayes says he's promised to stop by Hawley'swith a drinkto toast the curb, and Hawley says he'll drive carefully to avoid damaging the curb he fought so long to have fixed.

City repairs curb reported damaged 28 years ago

3 years ago

Duration 2:16

Calvin Hawley had first flagged the curb damaged by snow removal to the city in 1993. The years-long journey to get the work done peaked in 2019 when Hawley was given a number through the city's 311 line to check his file and request it said his curb would be repaired by June 26, 2037.