IQALUIT - An Iqaluit resident would like to see the damaged wooden posts around the city replaced as he said he feels they are a safety hazard.

Iqaluit resident Sylvain Degrasse said he would like to see the damaged wooden posts around the city replaced as they could be hazardous for pedestrians. He is also wondering how much they cost the city's taxpayers. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

"They are dangerous because they are pointy, the wood is sticking out and generally there just not very safe," said Sylvain Degrasse.

He said while he realizes their purpose is to create barriers separating the sidewalk from the road, when the sidewalks are slippery, people have tried to grab the posts to stop from falling.

"I've seen people young and old slipping and negotiating them, it's a human instinct to try and grab something if you're slipping," he said.

Degrasse said, he too, on occasion, started to lose his balance on the sidewalk covered in ice and try to grab one of the posts. He said the sidewalks are "sub standard" and not very well maintained.

With cooler temperatures and more ice and snow ahead, Degrasse said the safety of the city's residents should be of paramount concern. Degrasse said also he wants to know how much the city has been paying over the years to replace the posts.

The city began installing the wooden posts in 2005 at an initial cost of $300,000.

At that time, certain types of posts were used for specific purposes, said Frank Ford, public works superintendent with the city.

He said flat-top posts were originally put at intersections because they were not quite as high making it safer for cars and pedestrians. Square posts were used to mark out areas for angled parking. The slanted posts with holes in the top were ordered, he said, to imitate harpoons. Now, Ford estimates there are approximately 600 posts around the city.

After wear and tear out in the elements, some of the posts needed to be replaced. Replacing them is a costly venture.

"The cost is outrageous," said Ford.

To replace a post from the supplier in Quebec they had been dealing with, Ford said it was costing the city $1,000 per post.

He said with the high cost to replace the posts, they have been looking for cheaper sources of supply, and the city has found a solution.

"We don't have the budget to replace these ones at $1,000 a post and we are making them ourselves for a fraction of the cost," he said.

The city is now buying wood in 3.6 metre lengths and cutting them to make three posts.

As they come unfinished, city maintenance staff are treating them, staining them and adding reflectors all for the cost of only $50 each.

Ford said as fast as they are being made, they are being placed out on the street. If a square post is broken, it will be replaced with the same type of post.

Even if the post is in relatively good condition but is only pointy at the top, Degrasse suggests city maintenance staff could flatten or round out the top.

Whatever is done, he said he feels it must be done sooner than later and priority should be given to replacing or fixing the posts in high traffic areas such as near Northmart, Arctic Ventures, D.J. Specialities and around the post office.

"I think it's about time we did something about this before someone gets seriously hurt," said Degrasse.

Ford said as the soon as the new posts are ready, city maintenance staff will install them around the city.

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