Top 8 tips for navigating Winnipeg's slippery sidewalks
Wave of freezing rain covers city in layer of slippery ice Wednesday
If you have ventured down a sidewalk or through a parking lot to and from the car, you have likely stepped on a bit of ice.
Conditions were quite slippery throughout the city Wednesday after a wave of freezing rain fell on Winnipeg in the morning and early afternoon, and with temperatures dropping, it's bound to get worse.
"Freezing drizzle led to the slippery conditions,” said, and CBC meteorologist John Sauder. “It's formed due to warm air melting snow to liquid, then a below-freezing layer of air at the surface that is very shallow, which cools the droplets to almost freezing, then the freezing occurs on contact."
We took to those slippery city streets to compile a list of helpful tips gleaned from Winnipeggers who were navigating the icy roads Wednesday:
- Look for traction: Try to walk on areas that have been salted or have packed down snow instead of smooth surfaces.
- Keep your hands out of your pockets: Allows you to better balance and then your hands are ready just in case you do fall down.
- Wear footwear that doesn't have a hard rubber that freezes. Softer rubber will allow your feet to grip better in colder temperatures.
- Better Traction: Ken Berg the store manager at Mountain Equipment Co-op says: "Traction devices are really going to help you maintain your footing. It's not going to be something that is going to magically make you unable to slip, but it is certainly going to help a tremendous amount. You still have to be aware but it's going to make a huge difference in just being able to be sure-footed.
- Embrace the glide: Student Dnnesse Gomez explains that he tries to slide while walking on the ice: "Sliding when I'm walking, that's what my instructor told me to avoid slipping."
- If it's ice, try skating, says Earnest Hobbs: "Walk like you have skates on your feet."
- Wear proper footwear and go slow, says Brenda West: "I'm wearing flat footwear. I'm walking rather flat footed and not taking too big a step. I think that keeps it a little bit safer."
- If all else fails, maybe it is possible to avoid it all together. If you can cut through buildings or a mall, use the skywalk and underground network to get around where possible.