HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-19-032 - Winter Maintenance By-lawREPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: October 21, 2019
SUBMITTED BY:Gloria MacNeil, Director of Enforcement (519-741-2200, ext. 7952)
PREPAREDBY:Gloria MacNeil, Director of Enforcement (519-741-2200, ext. 7952)
WARD (S) INVOLVED: ALL
DATE OF REPORT:October 9, 2019
REPORT NO.: CSD-19-032
SUBJECT: Winter Maintenance By-law
___________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That Council repeal Chapter 687- Snow and Ice of the City of Kitchener’s Municipal Code
and approve and replace it with a newWinter Maintenance By-law as outlined in Report
CSD-19-032
BACKGROUND:
On May 27, 2019, City Council passed the following resolution related to the enforcement of the
City’s sidewalk snow clearing bylaw:
“That staff be directed to conduct a review of the required level of service stated in By-
law chapter 687 (Snow and Ice) as outlined in program component 1 of Infrastructure
Services Department report INS-19-009, throughout the summer 2019 and report back in
fall 2019 with results and recommendations.”
REPORT:
Throughout the second half of 2019, staff have conducted research, engaged with members of
the public and consulted with other municipalities to better understand the implications of various
approaches to sidewalk winter maintenance.
In 2015, staff presented a report to Council which included a variety of improvements that could
be made to the enforcement of the existing sidewalk snow clearing by-law. At that time, City
Council endorsed the following five specific areas of improvement:
1.Response times for clearing sidewalks found in violation of the bylaw – an external
contractor was hired who has committed to a 24-hour responsetimefor clearing.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 orTTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance.
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2.Chronic offenders / properties – a proactive inspection list was created.
3.Enforcement of the “bare pavement” requirement – Officers were directed to use
discretion and consider weather conditions, such as frigid conditions.
4.The 24 wait periodfor residents to lodge a complaint – this limit was removed.
5.Public awareness activities were undertaken related to sidewalk snow clearing.
These improvements were successfully implemented during the 2015-16 snow season andhave
since been carried out seasonally.In addition, By-law officers were directed by Council to use
discretion and to consider extreme weather conditions and other factors when enforcing this
standard. Staff have followed this direction,workingwith property owners to educate and
eliminate immediate safety risks while ensuring safe passage for all residents.
Atthe time of the 2015 report, staff were awaiting provincial changes to the Minimum
Maintenance Standards (MMS) which were implemented in May 2018. Staff havenow
incorporated the relevant changesinto (Chapter 687)Winter Maintenance by-law, including the
following addition which reflects the MMS:
Significant Weather Event:
Adding the declaration of a significant weather event to the by-law as per the new MMS.
A significant weather event could potentiallyhave an impact on the enforcement of snow
and ice removal from sidewalks. The by-law would provide the Director of Enforcement
with discretion to suspend enforcement of the by-law, cease the performance of
inspections or decline investigation of complaints for the duration of the significant
weather event.
In addition to the changes which reflect the MMS, staffhaveidentified gaps in the current by-law
(Chapter 687Snow and Ice)and have proposed the following changes for inclusionin the by-
law moving forward.
Sidewalk Definition:
A definition which encompasses any type of surface that has been improved for
pedestrian use and includes, asphalt, concrete or gravel finishes, but does not include
any part of the roadway, driveway apron, or multi-use trail.
Includes any openings leading onto roadways such as corner accessibility and pedestrian
crosswalks, etc.
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Ongoing Maintenance of Sidewalks:
A provision which requires residents to keep their sidewalks maintained and cleared of
snow and ice at any time, not just immediately following a snowfall. This would include
instances of blowing snow, freeze and thaw cycles causingice formation on a sidewalk,
freezing rain, etc.
The City of Kitchener’s current by-law (Chapter 687) requires property owners to remove all
snow and ice from adjacent sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall ending. This component of
the City’s by-law has long been interpreted to mean sidewalks must be cleared to the surface
(bare pavement). Meeting this standard ensures maximum accessibility and provides an
objective standard by which the by-law can be implemented. However, cleaning a sidewalk to
bare pavement can be difficult in extremely cold conditions and situations in whichice has
developedon a sidewalk.
Some members of the community have suggestedthat instead of a bare pavement requirement,
it would be more appropriate to use a “reasonable” or “passable” standard. In addition to
accessibility challenges, these standardsare also much more subjective, with a wide variety of
possibleinterpretations. Enforcing such a standard would be extremely difficultand would
preclude consistent enforcement across the city.
As part of our research, staff reached out to other municipalitiesto gather informationand
determine which municipalities have a snow andice by-lawin effect, understand their
requirements/standards for clearing and the language used to describe theirrequirements.The
chart below provides information on each of these areas.
City Plows Standard of
MunicipalityAdditionalComments
Sidewalk?Cleared
HamiltonOnlyBare Pavement-Entirewidth of sidewalkmust be clear
in sections of -24 hours after snowfall
Ancaster-Do not enforce the bylaw until they
have been informed by public works
that the roads have been cleared.
St. CatharinesNoBare Pavement-Entirewidth of sidewalkmust be clear
-24 hours after snowfall
MiltonResidents are Bare Pavement-Entirewidth of sidewalkmust be clear
responsible for -24 hours after snowfall, ice, hail, rain
clearing their -any ice must be cleared/salted/
sidewalks sanded,etc. to ensure no slip risk
Accumulation
of 5cm or
more of snow,
sidewalks
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associated
with schools,
transit routes
and major
pedestrian
travel are
plowed by the
Town
BramptonNoBare Pavement-Snow/ice must be cleared by 11am
the day after a snowfall
-Officers can use discretion to
determine if passablewhich requires
any ice tobe cleared/salted so that
there is no slip and fall risk
WaterlooNo Bare pavement-Entirewidth of sidewalkmust be clear
-24 hours after snowfall
CambridgeNoBare pavement-Entirewidth of sidewalkmust be clear
-36 hours after snowfall
In addition to the information provided in the chart above, staff found the following cities do not
have a snow clearing by-law and whereby the City is responsible for sidewalk clearing. These
include Niagara Falls, Barrie, London, Burlington, Oakville, Toronto and Guelph. For many of
these cities, snow clearing is only triggered after a specific amount of accumulation and none of
these municipalities clear sidewalks to a bare pavement standard.
As a result of the information collected by staff, it would appear that municipalites who have a
snow and ice by-law also have a 24 hour requirement for snowand ice to be removed from the
sidewalkandrequire a barepavementstandard of clearing. In contrast, municipalities who are
responsible for clearing city sidewalks do not typically have a by-law in place and apply varying
standards for clearing. A specific amount of accumulation is typically identified as the threshold
for staff being deployedto clear sidewalks.
It has been challenging to find an easily-understood alternative to a bare pavementstandard
that describes “passable” or “walkable” without compromising theaccessibility need of residents.
Staff launched a survey on Engage Kitchener which resulted in 243 responsesover a 20 day
period.Residents were asked to describe what winter sidewalksshould look like,with 88% of
respondents agreeingthat winter sidewalk conditions should be safe and accessible; 74.4% of
respondents agreed that an appropriately clearedsidewalk should reduce the risk of injury and
be clear of snow and ice to act as a safe transportation network for people of all abilities.
When residents were asked if they agree with the current snow and ice clearing standard
commonly interpreted as “bare pavement” 58.7% of respondents disagreed with our current
snow and ice clearing standard of bare pavementand 41.3% agree with theby-law.
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Residents were then asked to describe what a “passable” standard should look like if the City
permitted an alternative standard for sidewalk snow clearing – a “passable” standard what would
that look like? There were 221written responses to this question:
73% felt the sidewalk should be free of ice or if there is ice, it must be salted/sanded
63% felt the sidewalk should be “walkable” which was defined as a response that included
the terms flat, not slippery, sanded/salted ice, passable, level terrain, some mention of
minimal snow cover/hard packed snow or simply evidence that some effort to clear snow
had been made
Comments from residentswere wide-ranging and included some of the following excerpts:
“a bare sidewalk is the only safe sidewalk”
“no ice or slippery patches”
“enough traction to walk safely”
“expectations in line with conditions and environment”
“three inches of snow/ice or less”
“sufficient width for one person to walk, free of ice, packed snow OK”
“as much ice and snow removed as possible considering the physical capabilities of the
property owner”
There were some commonalities in the descriptions provided, however none oftheresidents’
descriptions clearly communicate an objectiveby-lawstandardthe way bare pavement does.
Staff consulted with three citizencommittees to understand their needs as it relates to sidewalk
snow clearing, The Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC), the Mayor’s
Advisory Council for Kitchener Seniors (MACKS) and TriTag. GRAAC and MACKS felt the
current bare pavement standard is the only standard that meets their needs for safety and
accessibility. TriTag felt bare pavement was not necessarily the goal, however the by-law could
be used as a tool to reach this goal. Further details outlining the consultation process are
provided below in the Community Engagement section of the report.
Based on all of the research conducted to date, staff have concluded that by continuing to use
a bare pavementstandard, the City of Kitchener will remainconsistent with other municipalities
in both the timelines and standards of clearing required. We are also ensuring that all residents
are provided with a standard which accounts foraccessibility challenges andthe necessity
required for mobility devices andstrollers.In addition, bare pavementhas been asnow removal
standard that has been applied across the City for over 20 years becausethe by-law wording is
clear and objective. Council has given staff the ability to use discretion and judgement during
weather events that are unusual or atypical, this will allow us to continue to apply relaxed or
alternative measureson a temporary basisshould the need arise.
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In summary, staff would like to share one of the comments provided in the Engage Kitchener
survey which staff feel is reflective and supportive of the concerns we have highlighted in the
report, “If you open up the wording, you'll get less people making aneffort to clear sidewalks to
even a passable standard. Bare pavement gives people a target to strive for.”
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through
the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:N/A
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
As mentioned above, staff have engaged with several key stakeholders including (GRAAC),
(MACKS) and TriTagin the development and implementation of the City’s sidewalk snow
clearing policies.
GRAAC and MACKS both continue to support the 24 hour waiting period and the bare pavement
requirement that has been applied over the years. Both of these groups strongly supported the
continued approach of bare pavementand felt there was no other snow clearing alternative that
would meet or support their needs. They did recognize there may need to be consideration for
special weather events.
Some of the most repeated comments we heard from GRAAC and MACKS were:
1.Bare pavement is the right standard. Any accumulation of snow and ice can be
dangerous for people using mobility devices.
2.The 24 hour window is the right standard. It is reasonable and should not be changed.
3.Any changes from clear of snow and ice will open up the bylaw into interpretation and
won’t work.
4.Everyone, including seniors and persons with physical disabilities, should be able to get
out and move around in winter. Unclear sidewalks impact the qualityof life and health of
seniors and persons with disabilities.
TriTag expressed that while bare pavement was not necessarily the goal, the goal should be
meaningfully passable and level without being slippery. They seethe current by-law as a tool to
reachthis goal.
TriTag felt the City should improve communication and explain theby-law enforcement process.
We were encouraged to explain how we address a first time offender versus a repeat/chronic
offender.
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TriTag felt the extension of the 24 hour window during consecutive snowfalls is problematic.
Engage Kitchener online survey: open for 20 days and received 243 responses. Based on survey
analytics, responses were received from all 10 wardsand there wasfairrepresentation from
respondents of all ages, except the 17 or under category.Staff have included some of the
statistical data obtained from the survey in the report and have attached areport summarizing
theremainder of the surveyresults.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, General Manager Community Services Department and
DCAO
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