Bruce Cousens has been on Hammond Bay Rd. several times trying to make life a little easier for pedestrians as the snow flies. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

chipping in

‘Other people have done good stuff for me:’ Nanaimo man tackles treacherous sidewalk

Dec 4, 2022 | 8:47 AM

NANAIMO — Clearing snow is a lot faster and enjoyable these days for Bruce Cousens.

The longtime Hammond Bay Rd. resident purchased a snowblower last winter in the midst of a huge wallop of snow blasting the south coast.

On top of tending to his long driveway, Cousens has cleared a steep, slippery-prone section of Hammond Bay Rd. from Fillinger Cres. to the top of the hill.

“I’ve been shoveling here for 50 years, but the two feet last year was more that could be tackled by hand. I figured it was time to get something better and it does a good job,” Cousens told NanaimoNewsNOW during a brief break.

Nanaimo is home to lengthy sections of sidewalk, including along bus routes, not fronted by homes or business tasked with keeping pathways clear.

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Often dangerous sheets of ice and mounds of snow pose challenging and sometimes dangerous conditions for pedestrians.

Cousens’ snowblower contains a scraping feature to remove ice.

Cousens is trying to avoid people from walking on the road.

“We’ll have people walking on the street in the dark in their dark clothing possibly getting hit. It’s a dangerous bit of road, traffic goes by here pretty fast”

Cousens said it feels good to give back to the community.

“Other people have done good stuff for me, it’s useful to pay it forward for other people,” Cousens said as he fired his unit back up.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes