A Toronto man is receiving praise online after posting a viral TikTok video of himself shovelling snow at a busy intersection, while also criticizing the city’s snow removal efforts.
“I think if you have the means to help out, then help out,” Edward Row, a Toronto-based photographer and now viral shoveller, said on Monday.
Row tells Now Toronto he is no stranger to shovelling sidewalks and intersections, having done so many times over the years, but this time decided to film himself after noticing the city had made little-to-no effort clearing the busy intersection at King and River streets.
Piles of snow and slushy walkways continued to fill the intersection despite the last major snowfall taking place more than a week prior to his shovelling, according to Row.
The conditions made it increasingly difficult for his 14-year-old dog to get around, on top of that he had been helping elderly neighbours navigate the intersection safely – that’s when he decided to spend hours shovelling it.
“I’ve been absolutely embarrassed by the city this past week, they have not made any effort whatsoever to clear intersections,” he said in his video.
The video was uploaded on Feb. 22 and shows Row clearing a walkway with a shovel as pedestrians and vehicles pass by.
The video has now received more than 900,000 views and 70,000 likes, with TikTok users applauding him for his work.
“As someone who’s been struggling to get around with a stroller, thank you,” one user said.
Another user commented, “not all heroes wear capes.”
The official Tim Hortons TikTok account also showed him love, saying “thanks for stepping up,” followed by a heart emoji.
Row says he also did the good deed to assist people with mobility devices and issues.
A wheelchair user and accessibility advocate, known as accessbyTay on Tiktok, explained in a recent video that she had to miss a dinner reservation due to large amounts of snow freezing over on sidewalks
“The City of Toronto, you need to do better because this has been unacceptable, it has been a week,” she said.
The City of Toronto says snow removal began on Feb. 19 and could take up to three weeks to complete.
As of Feb. 24, 104,592 tonnes of snow have been removed, according to the city.
The city says it will continue to prioritize main roads with transit routes, hospitals and emergency services stations, sidewalks and school bus loading zones, as well as roads and bridge decks.
