Snow, Snow and More Snow!

I first moved to Collingwood in 1985 having been transferred here with Goodyear from Toronto. The first couple of winters were pretty nasty, I can remember Mountain Road being closed for a couple of days (as it is today) and having to drive down Osler Bluff Road to Highway 26 in order to get to work at the Goodyear plant.  As cold and snowy those first couple of years were, I can't remember a time when it snowed consistently for the better part of a week as it recently has
Global TV did a segment on Collingwood last Friday and the impact the early snow is having on business at Blue Mountain, in Collingwood as well as a brief interview with myself regarding the real estate market.  As they say, "an ill wind always blows someone some good!"
  I love snow and winter but I must admit that spending an hour to an hour and a half every day blowing snow from my driveway is getting a little much.  Like many of you I find it irritating to be left with a wall of snow at the base of my driveway left by the plow.  It's heavy almost like sand and filled with junks of ice the size of small boulders making it tough to move with a snow thrower. When I was a kid growing up in Toronto our street was plowed with a road grader equipped with a hydraulically operated gate. The operator briefly lowered the gate at each driveway so as to prevent the snow from leaving the blade and filling the driveway.  It was simple yet effective and prevented a lot of cursing!  Maybe our public works department should look into something similar.
Speaking of cursing, I had some errands to run Monday including a trip to Town Hall to obtain some tax information. Low and behold they closed at noon due to "inclement weather." Every other place of business on Hurontario Street was open except our municipal offices. That hardly sets a good example but it's indicative of the liberties taken when you are not for profit enterprise. With so many businesses downtown allegedly struggling, none of them are saying hey, it's snowing let's knock off for the day at noon.  The recent municipal election was all about change, it's time to start the process and it begins with a change in attitude and leading by example.  Sure when the weather is bad there's nothing wrong with shutting down to allow employees the opportunity to get home safely but at noon when every other place of business is still open, that's a bit much.