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Montreal will set up a program to make it easier for people with reduced mobility to leave their homes in icy conditions, the executive committee member responsible for snow clearing announced Monday.

At a news conference before the monthly council meeting, Jean-François Parenteau said the goal is to prevent seniors and others with mobility issues from becoming prisoners in their homes when winter weather makes it dangerous to negotiate slippery front steps and paths.

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Parenteau said he did not yet have a budget for the program, but estimated it would total a few hundred thousand dollars.

But a Montreal resident whose parents both fell and injured themselves on icy sidewalks recently said more efforts are needed to make sidewalks safe.

“Services that cater to the elderly are great but I would think that a lot of people that are falling are not necessarily the ones that are going to be targeted in this program, said Niki Soilis, 38, of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.