Deputy Mayor Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) has pointed the finger at the city's contractual partners; opposition deputies argue that the city has set itself overly ambitious goals.

Ultimately, the culprit might be a bit of both, however.

This winter may have been slow out of the starting blocks so far, but ahead of the coldest months, the City of Tallinn pledged to clear an additional 60 kilometers of sidewalks of snow than they had done in previous years.

The city had assured the public that conditions would improve, with a focus on the city center (Kesklinn) and Põhja-Tallinn districts.

Yet still, the issues persist, as a recent freeze revealed.

Pere said: "We are currently working to improve anti-slip measures.

"For that reason, we have contacted our contractors, and Kadriorg Park, and all stakeholders involved in snow clearing in the city, reminding them firmly that more granite chips need to be spread," he went on, referring to the main anti-slip remedy used.

Opposition deputy and former city center district elder Monika Haukanõmm (Center) criticized the Reform-SDE-Isamaa-Eesti 200 city government's approach, claiming they have bitten off more than they can chew.

"While the city government promised that winter wouldn't catch us off guard and everything would be well-prepped, we are not seeing that as of today. In addition to lacking experience, they also took on a heavy burden over a very short time-frame," Haukanõmm remarked.

The coalition has yet to reach agreement on next year's city budget too, leaving questions about how future funding will address these issues.

At the same time, Tallinn has big plans for next winter, including the maintenance of all sidewalks via an additional €3 million in funding.

Pere said: "The sidewalks we won't get to this year will also be cleared of snow next winter. But to do that, we need to issue new tenders, and since we'll be starting in January rather than April as we did this year, we'll manage better."

The current coalition entered office in April this year.

However, "Aktuaalne kaamera" found that skepticism remained about whether this revised timeline and additional funding will be enough to address the underlying problems effectively.

One Tallinn-dweller, Valentina, said: "For me, the situation is very complicated because I have to move around, but very cautiously, let's say. You can see that something has been done, but the weather can be so harsh that I don't know if we can fight nature every time."

Another local resident, Tauri, said: "The question is whether people should pay more to the local government to have the resources [to clear sidewalks]. "

"If we look at what they do in England, local governments pay – people pay a local tax to do this," he went on, referring to a part of the world with generally much milder winters than Estonia's.

In any case, such a scheme would not easily fly in Tallinn, he believed.

"That's probably not a message people would like to hear, and it would be difficult to implement," Tauri went on.

At the time of writing, while the weather is still quite mild for the time of year, temperatures go below freezing at night in Tallinn and nationwide, only to rise during the day. The ensuing re-frozen meltwater is among the most hazardous conditions to negotiate when moving around on foot.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!