Snow bank nearly topples senior's scooter
An Edmonton senior who nearly fell off his motorized scooter when it got caught in the snow is asking city crews to be more careful when they plow streets.
Frank Prolas, 83, recently was travelling along 111th Avenue near his home at the St. Andrew's Senior Centre when he came across snow bank at an intersection.
"I tried to cross the one on Groat Road and I went over on two wheels and I managed to get it back this way," he said. "Otherwise I was going upside down."
Prolas didn't fall off but it was a close call. "It's scary, I'm telling you. It would have been on top of me, the machine."
Prolas said other seniors he knows have had troubles getting around.
"If they have walkers, it's really bad," he said.
Prolas is now asking city crews to take more care when clearing the streets.
Mayor Stephen Mandel said the city has received complaints from seniors having trouble leaving their homes and he agrees that crews should take more care.
"I feel terrible for that individual but it really is about our guys doing the things carefully, not just zooming down the street to remove snow."
Mandel wants Edmontonians to call the city if they have problems.
Prolas said that he and a neighbour contacted the city several times, but it took for a week for someone to show up, and only after calls from CBC News.
