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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The city is scrambling to clear snow-clogged streets as tempers flare at what is being perceived by some residents as a slow response.

The "massive cleanup" of the city's streets began on Wednesday night after recent record-breaking snowfalls, according to public works director Dennis Kefalas.

A bystander attempts to push a city public works truck on its way after it got stuck on 50 Street, Wednesday. - Lauren McKeon/NNSL photo

"The schedule will run for about 10 days and we'll clean up the entire downtown core," he said.

"It will be snow removal ... there might be a very thin sheen but it's essentially gone, it's bare pavement after we're done."

People waiting for clean-up on residential streets, however, won't be getting any relief any time soon.

"People are getting stuck," said Robin, a Yellowknife resident of 34 years, who declined to give her last name.

The city can fine residents and businesses for not clearing their sidewalks, she pointed out. "So how come we can't sue the city?" she asked.

"It's really bad," added Audrey Enge, another longtime resident.

"I got stuck once already," she said. Enge added she wouldn't have driven Wednesday if she had realized the roads would be so bad.

Some Yellowknife residents became housebound.

"If you have mobility problems it's hard to navigate, so after a large snowfall like this, for some people, they virtually end up housebound. That's the reality," said Heather Clarke, the information referral and support officer with the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities.

"Certainly right now, I mean imagine trying to navigate and get through with a wheelchair or a cane," she added.

In one short conversation with a group of women discussing the dismal state of roads Wednesday, Yellowknifer saw two taxis spin hopelessly as they attempted U-turns - one spitting nearly 20 feet and into the group.

Yellowknifer also observed bystanders push a pick-up truck belonging to the city's public works department after it became stuck on 50 Street.

"The city is not doing its work," called one security guard over his shoulder by the Yellowknife Inn as he and another man attempted to roll a wheeled bin along the sidewalk - which was not shovelled.

Kefalas acknowledged the snow combined with the past weekend's rain had created a "very unsafe and non-friendly environment," but pointed out the city had to wait for the snow to stop falling first before it could start the clean-up.

"Usually there's not enough snow on the ground for us to start before the second or third week of December," he added.

But it's not just the early snowfall that poses problems for road clean-up.

One factor that doesn't help road safety is the amount of salt derivatives being used by residents, said Kefalas.

"We don't use it because it's not environmentally friendly, it will corrode our infrastructure," he said, adding many jurisdictions have banned the use of salt.

This hasn't stopped some residents from laying it down on their sidewalks.

"When they go to clean off their sidewalks, they end up shovelling that into their parking lanes, so the snow has become kind of a granular, sugary type of snow that can't compact," Kefalas explained.

"In the past, when we've had these problems, we've been able to pack the snow right away and you can drive right over and now the snow's not been able to pack."

The other sticking factor is the city's budget.

"We all have budgets. Essentially at the municipal level it's always very tight," said Kefalas.

The city usually clears Franklin Avenue three to four times a year, side streets in the downtown core twice a year, and residential streets once a year. If the city gets more snowfall in large amounts, public works will ramp up its service, Kefalas said.

"Which essentially puts us over budget," he added.