From all accounts, Wilson Leung chose to stroll along Treadwells Drive in Mississauga’s east end earlier this week because the sidewalk was plugged with snow.
It was a poor choice for the 73-year-old, who was struck by an Acura as he walked on the road Monday with his wife, their backs to traffic in the southbound lane.
Leung was knocked flat to the roadway and suffered severe head injuries. He is still clinging to life in Sunnybrook hospital. Leung’s wife was unhurt.
The 39-year-old driver has not been charged. Police would like to hear from witnesses.
The accident has raised issues about whose responsibility it is to clear sidewalks in Mississauga, where no bylaw exists to require dwellers to shovel their snow from the front walks.
Residents regularly do clear the walks fronting their property and the sidewalk along Treadwells Drive was navigable — to a point.
Along the first block north of Dundas Street, where the sidewalk abuts St. Mina and St. Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church, hard-packed old snow covered the sidewalk, even before fresh snow arrived mid-week.
Joe Pitushka, Mississauga’s works director, said the city clears more than half of its 2,500 kilometres of sidewalks.
“We deem about 55 per cent to be priority routes, those adjacent to transit or major roads, or leading to homes for the aged or schools, and we maintain them,” he said. “Our level of service is to have them cleared within 36 hours of the completion of a storm.
“For other sidewalks, we ask residents to be good neighbours and help us out.”
Mississauga has no bylaw like the one in Toronto, which gives dwellers 12 hours after a storm to shovel public walkways.
Const. Wayne Patterson of Peel police said detectives are seeking witnesses to the crash, shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday.
