Kitchener's snow clearing policies up for debate at committee meeting Monday

Members of Kitchener's community and infrastructure services committee will be discussing the city's changes to snow clearing in this upcoming winter with the focus on possibly making changes in the future.

New clearing methods and monitoring will be evaluated during 2018/19 winter months

CBC News ·
Remember this kind of weather? Winter may seem like a distant memory, but Kitchener councillors and staff will be discussing snow clearing at Monday morning's community and infrastructure services committee. (Gary Graves/CBC)

It feels like summer outside, but inside Kitchener City Hall, council and staff will be discussing snow removal Monday morning.

Staff will be presenting a report to the community and infrastructure services committee starting at 11 a.m. in council chambers.

It makes a number of recommendations for changes to this upcoming winter's snow removal practices by the city. Aaron McCrimmon-Jones, the transportation planning project manager for the city, says the changes would be monitored over the winter months.

That way they can "evaluate them and collect data on them and understand what level of public support exists for each of those new components," he said.

Some of the recommendations from staff include:

  • Having a dedicated enforcement officer conducting sidewalk inspections between November and April to make sure snow is being cleared.
  • The city clears snow from all sidewalks after a snow event when 8 cm or more falls within a 24 hour period.
  • Designate an area of the city where there's 40 km of sidewalk and clear all the snow after every snowfall.
  • Install sensors stations that can measure pavement surface conditions.
  • Explore partnerships with community groups — such as The Working Centre — to help those who are unable to clear their own sidewalks.

'A wide range of viewpoints'

"This is a topic with high public interest and it brings a wide range of viewpoints and opinions about what role the city should play when it comes to clearing snow and ice from sidewalks," McCrimmon-Jones said, which is why they want to try out a few ideas this winter.

The changes are also being suggested because in May, the province changed the mandated standards. Each municipality must follow them when it comes to clearing sidewalks of snow.

Those changes include that municipalities must ensure snow of more than 8 cm is cleared from sidewalks within 48 hours of a snowfall; they must address ice formation on sidewalks within 24 to 48 hours; and municipalities must "patrol" sidewalks either by a person walking the sidewalks or by electronic monitoring.

Currently, the city clears 216 km of sidewalk. Property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks and downtown Kitchener sees elevated sidewalk clearing because the businesses pay for it, McCrimmon-Jones said.

Comments

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.