It takes good boots and good balance to make it safely along many of our sidewalks. 

The freeze-and-thaw cycle has created a lot of ice and it's not likely going to be cleared soon.

It may be fun at a skating rink, but walking on ice-covered sidewalks can be dangerous.

“The City of Barrie is responsible for clearing the 600 kilometers of sidewalk that we have around the city,” says Craig Morton with the city.

And while the city does its best to clear parking lots, crosswalks, and bus shelters once five centimeters of snow has fallen, Morton says some ice residue remains behind.

“We can't get down to the bare pavement due to the design of the snow clearing machines,” he says.

The City of Orillia is responsible for clearing about 120 kilometers of sidewalk, but after receiving another 30 centimeters of snow earlier this week, it’s clear why it's taking a while to get to everybody.

“There was quite a buildup,” says Kelly Smith with the city. “It took probably the better part of the week to clean up Monday and Tuesday’s storm.”

Fred Roberts says he walks every day, and on slippery days like today he feels more secure using his cane for assistance.

“When the sidewalk freezes up it gets pretty slippery but they've been going around sanding them lately and it's pretty good,” the Orillia resident says.

While the city looks after sidewalks, local bylaws require property owners clear all steps, driveways, and parking lots. That’s something that’s not normally a problem, but with about 200 centimeters of snow on the ground, it hasn't been a normal Orillia winter.

“I've worked for the city for 22 years and I have never had a complaint until last week,” Smith says.

That complaint was centered on an apartment building that failed to clear snow for its tenants. The issue has since been resolved. Still, with such a large amount of snow to be cleared from sidewalks, some take their chances by walking on the road, which police say isn’t a good idea.

“If you have to take a few extra seconds by walking on the sidewalk and going slower, then that's what you have to do,” says OPP Const. Sharron Brown.

John Stephens says he won't walk on the road or the sidewalk.

“We exercise at home, we have a treadmill,” he says.