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Bruce Humphrey pulled four shopping carts out of Range Lake on Monday. A member of the Snowmobile Association, Humphrey said the carts could be a serious danger to snowmobilers on the lake.- Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Four algae-blackened shopping carts sat on the shore of Range Lake behind Coyote's Bar and Grill on Monday afternoon.

Bruce Humphrey, a Yellowknife resident, pulled the carts from the lake with an all-terrain vehicle, just as he did with another cart last year. He said he'll be contacting the city to ask that the carts be removed from the site.

A member of the Great Slave Snowmobile Association, Humphrey is well aware of the danger carts submerged in ice can create for snowmobilers.

"If someone got their skis hooked on one of (the carts) it could be a serious or even fatal accident," he said, adding that the collision could roll or flip the snowmobile with the rider on it.

Humphrey said he hopes people will think twice before dumping in the area because it means more work for other people. The objects pose a hazard to both people who use the area and the environment, he said.

From the spot where Humphrey pulled out the shopping carts, he pointed to two more spots within eyesight around the lake where plastic bags and other litter cluttered up the shoreline.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the city will remove the carts and will partner with TD Canada Trust for a shoreline clean-up of Range Lake in September. Van Tighem said the annual cleanup recovers items such as shopping carts, pylons, bicycles, and tires.

The cleaning does not cost the city anything beyond the regular wages of the removal crew because of this volunteer work, he said.

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