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Buried alive on the Road to Nowhere

Subdivision's snow hazards a costly danger for homeowners

ARTHUR JOHNSON

When Jeannie Kullualik went house hunting in the Road to Nowhere subdivision last year, she knew Inuit elders had warned that homes should never be built in the area because of snow hazards.

But Kullualik felt she had no choice, because she had lost her employer-provided housing after changing jobs and the new subdivision was the only place in Iqaluit at the time with homes for sale.

If I didn't buy a house," she said, "my children and I would have been homeless."

So it was that Kullualik moved into the windy subdivision last December, just in time to be hit by one of the worst winters in recent memory.

Soon after she and her family moved in, snow had packed so high and solidly against the house that she could not open the living room windows or the back door. By the end of the winter, "the snow had literally crushed my balcony and also caused the siding on the house to buckle."

Still, Kullualik considers herself fortunate, compared with some of her neighbours. Her house came with a one-year warranty, so the builder will pay for any repairs.

Some other nearby residents who bought before last year now face hefty repair bills for damaged siding and balconies, she said. And two of her neighbours had oil spills because snow loads cracked pipes running from their tanks to their homes.

In desperation, Kullualik appeared as a one-person delegation before the city's engineering and planning committee this week to plead her case for official help to solve what she described as an expensive and potentially dangerous problem.

She said she fears for the safety of herself and her children when the snow makes it impossible to use the back door. And she's terrified of the prospect of huge repair bills in coming winters when her warranty expires.

Having approved the subdivision, she argued, the city should now step in to erect snow fences, which would alleviate the drifting problem. Kullualik said she had seen for herself in Rankin Inlet that snow fences can make a dramatic difference to home owners like herself.

She acknowledged that erecting the barriers would be expensive, but implored committee members to consider it an investment that would yield dividends for everyone in terms of increased safety and lower repair and maintenance bills.

Despite her pleas, Kullualik left the meeting with no real prospect of relief.

Committee members promised her that they would give the problem due consideration, but stopped short of saying they would recommend that council authorize the construction of any snow barriers in the subdivision.

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