With the first snowfall earlier this month, sidewalks in the Queen’s area have been given priority snow removal under the new winter control plan.

Matt Kussin, AMS Municipal Affairs Commissioner, met with City of Kingston officials earlier this year to ensure that the City implemented changes made to its snow clearing policies.

“Snow removal has always been an important municipal issue for students,” Kussin said.

Kussin, ArtSci ’15, said his predecessor worked with Kingston staff and City councilors last year to prioritize snow removal on sidewalks in the University District.

The motion passed at the committee council in December 2014, but changes in the winter plan weren’t officially implemented until this past fall when Kussin met with the City to ensure that the changes would be applied around the City.

“Now here we are with increased priority for some major sidewalks in the University District,” he said.

Kussin said groundwork was already in place before he took office and his work was a matter of ensuring that the City stuck to the accepted winter control plan.

“I think it’s also important to remember that we can’t take it for granted that Kingston is one of the few municipalities in Canada that does do snow removal on sidewalks,” he said.

Due to the lack of snow in November and December, the new winter control plan hasn’t yet been tested. Kussin says he hopes that students will begin to see improvements now that there’s snow on campus.

— With files from Jacob Rosen