Calgary council to consider changes to snow and ice removal
Posted Jun 25, 2018 6:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It may be summer, but Calgary councillors are getting ready to talk snow and ice.
Druh Farrell brought forward a notice of motion in January asking for staff to look at ways to improve accessibility and reduce injuries through snow and ice control reform.
The administration will present its report Monday.
There are 10 areas administration focused on.
That includes changing bylaws to allow for $250 fines for those who don’t clear snow and ice from sidewalks, as well as improving clearing activities in high volume areas like around CTrain and BRT routes.
Perhaps the most ambitious idea is to improve city timelines for clearing sidewalks and pathways that would bring those more in line with expectations on private property owners, ensuring they’re cleared within 24 hours.
Parks currently has a 72-hour response rate for their 300 km of sidewalk, while Roads completes all sidewalks in their inventory within seven days.
It also looked at updating snow and ice clearing policies to be consistent with the pedestrian strategy, as well as increasing coordination of snow and ice control between roads, transit, parks and other relevant city departments.
Accessibility was another highlighted area, which could see updated guidelines or rules for the clearing of wheelchair ramps, curb cuts and sidewalk crossings of laneways.
There is no clear recommendation on what council should, but the report estimates implementing some or all of the changes would cost between $12 and $21 million annually.
