‘Tripping hazard, public safety’: Bylaw enforcing placement of electrical cords in Medicine Hat

Especially not for warming up their vehicle.

For Lynne Thomas who lives in the south east hill area of Medicine Hat that’s exactly what happened.

She has to park her vehicle on the street.

When her car wouldn’t start during the recent cold snap, she plugged it in for a short period.

“Next thing I knew I looked out and I had a ticket sitting on my window,” Thomas said.

“What are we supposed to do? It’s the middle of winter,” she added.

“We still have to keep going, you know. So yeah, I’m not happy but I did get a new pole made. So I hope that works.”

A city bylaw requires electrical cords to be 8 feet two inches above the sidewalk to prevent a tripping hazard.

This has prompted some residents to come up with a solution.

19-year-old Dreyden Gosnell said his grandfather suggested he start building poles for electrical cords.

“I was a little skeptical about it at the start but started making them and people wanted them,” Gosnell said.

“It just went from there and, yeah, the demand was pretty high,” he added.

“It’s been working out. I hope it work for everybody else.”

Brad Potts with Bylaw and Enforcement with the Medicine Hat Police Service says they try to be proactive and warn residents before handing out a ticket.

He adds they are trying to keep the community safe and respond to all complaints.

“There are some that we have come across on a complaint basis,” Potts said.

“We try to educate, let people know, you know, whenever possible,” he added.

“But, enforcement is always an option.”

According to Potts they have handed out 22 tickets for electrical cords over sidewalks so far this year.

He says that it is an issue that still requires enforcement.

“Tripping hazard, public safety and we take great pride in keeping the community safe and it is a hazard whether you think people will be out walking or not,” Potts said.

Potts adds that if people are wanting to see a change to allow carpets over the electrical cords on the sidewalk like some other cities allow, that is something they would need to bring up with the city.

Even though Thomas now has her cord holder, she feels that this would be a good solution that would look a lot better visually.

“Even those little rubber, those rubber things for the cords that you could get, put that across the sidewalk,” Thomas said.

“I know they don’t cost that much. I’d be happy to do that,” she added.

“But to fork out this kind of money and to have something like that. Having to hang around all year. It’s an eyesore.”

Another city bylaw people need to remember is the need to remove snow from the sidewalk within 24 hours of the last snow fall.

This can also result in a $100 fine.

by Jesse Gill

‘Tripping hazard, public safety’: Bylaw enforcing placement of electrical cords in Medicine Hat

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