Facing increasing displeasure from the public about its sidewalk obstruction bylaw and snow removal policies, Jasper council launched a defensive at Tuesday’s council meeting. Ticketing residents for running extension cords across the sidewalk to ensure their car will start in the morning has proven to be most unpopular, and council finally decided to react.

Manager of corporate services Verne Balding told council bylaw has issued 15 warnings and three tickets for sidewalk obstruction. He also said 160 warnings and two tickets have been issued for snow on sidewalks, and noted most other municipalities in the region have similar bylaws. The classic ‘everyone else is doing it’ defense.

Coun. Brenda Zinck said the small number of tickets issued negates the argument that the town is embarking on a money grab. She said the bylaw is there for a reason, and if its on the books, it needs to be enforced.

However since most residents usually plug in their cars on the coldest nights, is it fair to say 15 warnings and three tickets is low?
It’s also a far cry from reality to ensure every bylaw is enforced. Several fall in and out of favour over time, and discretion should always be an available option for peace officers.

Mayor Richard Ireland said the bylaw is there to prevent individuals from obstructing the sidewalk and protect pedestrian safety. It also protects the municipality in case someone tries to sue the town over the hazard.

The town received one complaint about cords on the sidewalks. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that an individual could trip on the cord, but this still smacks of a rule pushed through to protect against the lawsuit happy. How often is public safety legislation simply a result of preventing lawsuits? This isn’t the town’s fault, but indicative of a larger problem.

But through this attempt at protection, the town has induced more anger than gratitude. If the town truly was worried about trip hazards resulting from extension cords, a much more proactive approach should have been implemented. It is unreasonable to expect Jasperites and visitors to read the town’s bylaw manual, which is a rather inaccessible document. The bylaw caught many by surprise, which proved to be an even greater aggravating factor.

Education is key. Informing the public about the bylaw and its plans to enforce it would have gone a long way to reduce the contempt and irritation expressed by the public. Information should have been distributed through the town’s website and the newspaper before tickets were issued. Instead, we received complaints about a bylaw frankly we knew nothing about, and the public had several encounters with bylaw personnel, which even in the event of a mere warning, isn’t desirable for most residents.

A proper explanation of the rational behind municipal decisions should be more than a courtesy. Public dollars are spent creating and enforcing bylaws in an effort to create a civil society. The municipality should try harder to foster dialogue and explain its actions before bringing out the hard hand of the law. Extension cords can’t be an issue they want to hang themselves upon.