Snow Clearing On Sidewalks Challenging

It’s that time of year again. When the City and Council have to talk about issues around snow and ice clearing. A presentation was made to Council, looking specifically at sidewalk clearing.
Council heard a report about who new development has added 20 kilometres of sidewalk to be cleared. However, the nature of the property frontages with the wider driveways means less room to pile the snow that has been cleared.
Three possible options were presented: maintain the status quo, haul the snow away, or make homeowners responsible for clearing the sidewalks in front of their properties.
“I think they [the sidewalks] need to be plowed,” says Councillor Jillian Merrick. “But there’s more information to be had. And I worry about leaving it to residents to keep the snow cleared.”
However Dave Dyer, the Manager of Engineering and Public Works emphasized the second option of hauling the snow away is “very costly.”
Council has opted to get more information and has asked Administration to come back with more information on those costs.