By TERRY PUGH
It’s the dog days of summer, and a blizzard isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.
But, Warman city officials are currently shoveling their way through the finer points of a revised snow-clearing policy before the white stuff hits us in earnest.
Warman City Council voted at its July 20 meeting to approve first reading of a proposed Residential Sidewalk Snow Clearing Bylaw. The proposed bylaw would still be subject to a public hearing and must still pass second and third reading before it could be implemented.
The proposed bylaw is now open for public feedback, and councillors are looking to gauge whether residents and businesses will warm up to the idea, or whether they’ll pour ice-cold water on it.
Warman currently does not require homeowners and businesses to clear sidewalks in front of their property. The proposed bylaw would mark the first time such a requirement would be implemented.
A survey on the proposed Residential Sidewalk Snow Clearing Bylaw is currently underway and can be accessed through the City of Warman website. The survey consists of 12 multiple choice questions, along with a few options where respondents can write in comments.
The city’s introduction to the online survey states:
“The City of Warman clears snow and ice from sidewalks along Priority 1 and Priority 2 roadways as time and resources permit.
“Sidewalks adjacent to residential properties and other non-priority areas are generally maintained at the discretion of the landowner.
“There is currently no bylaw requiring adjacent property owners to clear sidewalks from snow and ice.
“Council has not made any decisions and is seeking public input before considering any changes.”
While the proposed bylaw focuses on sidewalk clearing, it also has implications for snow removal from streets.
A report from the city administration to the July 20 city council committee of the whole meeting noted that if the proposed sidewalk clearing bylaw is adopted, it “would represent a significant change to the city’s approach to winter maintenance.”
The city’s existing Snow Removal Bylaw provides city administration with flexibility to select the most effective snow removal and storage methods based on snowfall amounts, weather conditions, available resources, and operational priorities, according to the report.
“This flexibility allows Public Works to respond efficiently to changing conditions and complete residential snow removal operations as effectively as possible.”
If a sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw is implemented, it will affect how street snow removal operations are carried out, particularly where sidewalks are currently used for temporary snow storage during clearing operations, according to the report. A revised snow-clearing policy for streets would need to be drawn up if the sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw is put in place.
The administration report notes that while the sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw could improve pedestrian accessibility by encouraging more timely snow and ice removal, it would also mean the city would have to devote additional resources to enforcing the bylaw, as well as “educating residents regarding their responsibilities, implementation timelines, enforcement expectations and any changes to the city’s winter maintenance program for roads.”