Blind River council has decided against snow plowing at several locations in the town.
The decision to drop the locations from snow removal this winter was made by council at its Monday night meeting.
The locations where snow removal will be discontinued this winter include Hillside Cemetery, the Tourist Information and old Timber Village Museum site and about three kilometres of Boom Camp Road beyond the Ski Club.
Mark Bender, the town’s director of public services, said discontinuing the service would save the town about $17,500 from its $150,000 snow removal budget.
“It is significant,” he told council of the three and a half hours required to plow the locations each time and the fact it was done about 50 times last season during the heavy snowfalls.
“The reduction is to save money and time,” Councillor HP Roy told council of the recommendation from the public services committee.
“There will be some concerns because there is activity at some of the locations,” Bender acknowledged.
He pointed out that with sanding and plowing there’s a history of doing some damage particularly to lawns which have to be repaired in the spring.
Bender assured council that fire hydrants near the tourist centre will be cleared, as well as access to the firehall.
By reducing plowing in those areas, the town could consider improving services in other areas if needed, he said.
Coun. Steven Wells supported discontinuing the service.
“I do like the fact that not only will this result in some saving of person-hours and fuel but it is also going to contribute to a reduction in our carbon footprint,” the councillor said, referring to less use of town vehicles.
The town will advertise the service discontinuation to make residents aware.