Neighbourhood action teams to fix variety of issues in Winnipeg communities
3 teams of 6 will fix potholes, trim trees, repair sidewalks and other jobs, one area at a time
A new crew of City of Winnipeg workers trained to perform a variety of tasks will spend the next several months fixing problems in neighbourhoods across the city.
But rather than sending a crew to do one job, like fill a pothole or trim a tree, the neighbourhood action teams will focus on one area, tackling all service requests, before moving on to the next.
It fulfils an election pledge from Mayor Scott Gillingham to create teams of workers capable of taking care of the many smaller issues that often pile up on the city's to-do list.
"They're teams that are cross-trained to take care of multiple issues at once, all in one visit," Gillingham said at a news conference in Machray Park, alongside team members and other public works department staff.
The program includes three teams of six people, with equipment to perform jobs like filling potholes, fixing broken signs, sidewalk repairs, clearing tree debris, and boulevard maintenance.
Priority areas will be determined by a combination of 311 requests, communication with area councillors, consultation with business and community groups, and input from neighbours.
Gillingham says if someone sees a crew working on their street, they can report problems directly to the team members, who will take care of it.
"It's a smarter, faster way to deliver public service and it puts residents first," Gillingham said.
The team has already been working for months, starting over the winter clearing snow around transit stops, and learning to do other things on the job.
They plan to rotate through all wards in the city between now and October, spending four weeks in each area, starting with Mynarski, Daniel McIntyre and River Heights-Fort Garry.
St. John's neighbourhood resident Tyrone Diese says he thinks the teams will make a more noticeable difference in the appearance of the community.
"I think that's a great idea, because at least everything's getting done at once rather than, you know, something gets done here and there [and] it never seems like it is ever finished," he said.
Diese has a list of things he'd like to see fixed around his neighbourhood,
"Up on the end of the block, there's trees that are actually blocking your view when you're driving … That's dangerous, right? And there's a lot of spots like that."
Fixing signs, filling potholes
Director of Public Works Jim Berezowsky says they will be there with a number of pieces of equipment to deal with a number of problems at once.
"If it's a curb, you might be doing … a minor asphalt repair, and then what you're doing as well is you're scheduling that for more permanency down the road," he said.
On top of looking for people who could do a variety of jobs, the city selected team members based on their ability to communicate with community members.
Colin Campbell worked as a city arborist for 15 years before joining the team.
"I've learned how to work asphalt and do all kinds of other city jobs that weren't in my scope previously," he said in an interview.
"I'm fixing signs and things of that nature. It's been a good learning experience."
Team co-ordinator Keenan Boles says they've already been out in a few areas and people are coming up to them to point out things that need to be done.
"Almost daily … they've heard from at least one resident, whether it be identifying additional issues that they need to be taken care of at the time or even just coming out with commendations and thanking them for the service that they provided because they've been waiting for that service," Boles said.
Public works chair Janice Lukes admits it will be a challenge or the teams to get everything done.
"Four weeks — we'll never solve all of this, but we can target and hone in and focus on specific areas," she said.
The program is expected to cost about $2.7 million a year.
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