The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 1, 20 18 | 4 2 uniq ue sho pping experi encesk-w surpl us 666 Victoria St. N., Kitchener Mon.-Fri. 8-9; Sat. 9-6; Sun. 10-5 447 Huron Street, Stratford Mon.-Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5 We reserve the right to limit quantities. Some items may not be exactly as shown. Some items may be limited in quantity. www.kwsurplus.com $1999 size 32-42 assorted colours coleman lined pants $6996 watts = 40watts of light 4 PACK LED SOFT WHITE LIGHT BULBS CARPETED 4 PK CAR MATS $999 grey or black 160 PK 2 PLY FACIAL TISSUES 99¢ea $999 44" wood handle GARANT ICE CHOPPER assorted sizes & colours MEN'S FLANNEL PAJAMA PANTS $799 7" wide The King Street con- struction may be done, but there is still more work to be done after the two-and- a-half-year construction project. The stretch of road in the uptown core - a project marred by delays and frus- trated businesses - official- ly opened to the public in late November, but there are still questions to be an- swered. The main one for up- town Coun. Melissa Dur- rell is who will now be re- sponsible for clearing snow from the much larger sidewalks. Right now, the City of Waterloo is responsible for clearing the new bike paths that were included in the streetscape plan, but busi- ness owners are still on the hook for the much larger sidewalks in the uptown core. Durrell has asked city staff for a report on what exactly is being done now so she can advocate in fa- vour of the city clearing those sidewalks. "Look, we're trying to make uptown people friendly and accessible. The fact is we went from a metre and a bit sidewalk to a three-metre sidewalk," said Durrell. "I just think it's not fair to ask business- es to be able to do that." Durrell said it's not about businesses not want- ing to clear their own snow during the winter, but about the quality of snow removal. She said since some businesses don't open until noon or later, the side- walks are often left un- touched after a significant snowfall. But for Coun. Angela Veith, clearing one section of sidewalk for businesses could create a precedent for businesses in other parts of the city. "The wider sidewalks; businesses want that and it'll be a great thing for mo- bility and patios," said Veith. "But what's to stop another business in sub- urbs from saying to the city, 'Hey, come and clear my sidewalks.'" But for Durrell, the up- town core should be treat- ed differently because of it's importance to the city. "We clear the streets for the cars, we clear the bike lanes for the bikes and we should be clearing the side- walks for the people in our core," said Durrell. "Up- town is the heart of the city. We know that a strong up- town can be the heart of the city." In the haste to get King Street open in time for Christmas shopping, one small detail was left out - the bike lanes. While they have been built, they have not yet been finished with a tex- tured aggregate surface, which is leading to confu- sion about their usability during the winter. The an- swer? Not yet. The problem right now, however, is that many mo- torists don't know they are supposed to be bike lanes and could be causing dam- age to the work by parking on them. Eric Saunderson, a se- nior project manager with the Region of Waterloo who oversees the project, re- minds motorists that park- ing will no longer be avail- able on King Street on the west side north of Erb Street to Bridgeport Road. In an update on the City of Waterloo's website, the city has indicated that the bike paths are not safe to be used. "Under normal circum- stances, any areas where construction is not com- plete would be fenced off," reads the update. "Consen- sus between the Uptown Business Improvement As- sociation, the city and the region was to clear King Street and any construc- tion equipment, fencing, signs, etc., by Dec. 1 to en- courage customers to come to the uptown area." The city has also deter- mined that since the bike lanes are not ready for cy- clists, the city will not pro- vide winter maintenance. NEWS Uptown councillor wants city to clear core sidewalks ADAM JACKSON ajackson@waterloochronicle.ca Who is responsible for clearing the bike lanes and extended sidewalks is up for debate as councillors weigh in on snow clearing. Adam Jackson Photo