Not much more city can do about dandelion scourge, councillor told
The city appears to have lost the war against dandelions, says Coun. Bryan Anderson.
He raised concerns about "the sea of white along all of our major roads" on Monday, and was told the city can't possibly afford the resources needed to eradicate the problem.
Right now, the city's main defence against the yellow scourge is basic mowing every seven days.
"I think we'd have to cut on a cycle that would be unreasonable," said community services manager Linda Cochrane.
"I'm not so sure that anybody, councillors or ourselves, think that's a reasonable approach."
In May, the city usually gets about 1,000 complaints about dandelions. Anderson said he gets an email a day from someone wondering if there's anything the city can do.
He said the problem is top of mind for him too, especially after this past weekend.
"Literally, it was impossible to not breathe in dandelion seeds," he said.
Bylaws do not list dandelions as a nuisance weed, and the city does not spray chemicals to kill them.
City staff are considering an all-out ban on herbicides at the request of Coun. Ben Henderson, which could affect the city's policy on dandelion removal, said Cochrane.
She expects a spirited debate over what to do about the pesky weeds.
"This issue polarizers people in terms of chemical versus non-use of chemical for noxious weeds, much less dandelions," she said.
Cochrane said May is usually the worst month for dandelions, and she expects the mowing will get them under control in a few weeks.
The review of the city's herbicide policy is expected to go before councillors before they break for the summer.
