As winter drags on in the City of Calgary, icy sidewalks will continue to be a hazard in many areas of the city and officials say it’s a real problem.
Over the past two months, EMS has responded to 50 calls related to pedestrians falling because of ice.
One of those cases even involved a man in his 60s who died of the injuries he sustained when he slipped.
“It’s a significant concern, especially when we have this type of weather where we have somewhat mild temperatures during the day and then it freezes at night,” says Adam Loria with Calgary EMS.
Loria has some advice on walking on icy sidewalks.
“Slow, shuffle-like steps with your toes pointed slightly inwards. With the right footwear, you should be able to navigate icy surfaces.”
Unfortunately, finding the optimal footwear may be a bit difficult because according to a recent study, the majority of winter boots sold in Canada aren’t grippy enough.
Geoff Fernie, who works with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, says his team created a special scale to measure the effectiveness of grip on different winter boots.
“We invented a three-snowflake scale in the first case. It probably should have been five, but we kept it at three so it wouldn’t be too embarrassing because 90 percent of them got none and the others got one.”
Iain Summers of Mark’s Work Wearhouse says it’s very important for consumers to make smart choices about their footwear.
“The biggest misconception is understanding what’s on the bottom of the boots versus how the boots look on top.”
To learn more and check the rating on your own winter boots, you can go to the website.
(With files from Adriana Zhang)
