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Sidewalk plowing

W. K. Lis

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Montréal plows its sidewalk, entirely. See link.

In Toronto, only some areas get their sidewalks plowed and salted.

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It is time for Toronto to plow ALL its sidewalks. See story at this link.

Snow has finally come to Toronto and it looks like this time you’ll have to get out the shovel. But what are the snow rules in the city? We talked to Hector Moreno, the City of Toronto's manager of road operations, to find out what you're meant to do when the snow starts sticking and what you can expect from the city.

Where do I put the snow I've shovelled?

Keep it on your property. Don't push it into the road — that's illegal and can land you a $360 fine, which goes up to $1,000 for repeat offenders. This season, 305 warnings have been sent out for illegal snow dumping, but only eight tickets have been issued.

Am I responsible for the sidewalk in front of my house?

The city will clear snow from sidewalks after eight centimetres of snow has fallen (five cm in January and February) when their equipment can do the job. If you live in the suburbs, the city will probably do the clearing for you. But if you live downtown and in central parts of Toronto, places where it's hard for their equipment to get, you are required to clear your sidewalk within 12 hours of a snowfall. See the map above.

What if I live in a rental?

If you're in a house rental, the nice thing to do would be to clear your sidewalk. But "ultimately the responsibility rests with the registered property owner," says Moreno.

Do I have to use salt?

Use salt on sidewalks and steps only when necessary, the city recommends.

What happens if I don't shovel?

You could face a $125 fine and wrath from your neighbours. But of 325 complaints made so far this winter, none has resulted in a ticket. Last winter, the city received 4,608 complaints and issued 144 fines.

How long do I have to wait for the city to clear my sidewalk?

Where the city provides the service, sidewalks will generally be plowed within 24 to 48 hours of a snowstorm. But the city asks for up to 72 hours after the snow has stopped.

What happens if I'm old or sick and live in the core?

The city currently clears sidewalks for 7,000 of the city's sick and elderly. Sign up for the service here.

Who's responsible if someone slips and falls on the sidewalk outside of my home?

Courts have ruled that municipalities are liable. In 2013, slip and fall claims cost Toronto $11.5 million, with an average claim coming out at $26,500.

My neighbours never shovel the sidewalk. What do I do?

It's difficult for bylaw officers to "catch people in the act," says Moreno, or non-act, in this case. Most fines are doled out after people call and complain about their neighbour — but even then the city "puts a lot of effort into education" as a first response, says Moreno. "Any subsequent complaints or follow-up investigations may result in fines being imposed for non-compliance," says Moreno. "It should be noted that over the years we are seeing a higher rate of compliance ranging between 90 and 95 per cent."

How long do I have to wait for a snowplow to come down my street?

Local road plowing begins if snow accumulation has reached eight cm once snow fall stops. Plowing on side streets will usually be completed within 14 to 16 hours. Bus stops and transit shelters will generally be plowed within 48 hours after a snowstorm.

I'm trapped!

Call 311 to report winter-related emergencies.

What else does the city do?

Toronto has an $85 million budget for winter operations, approximately 0.85 per cent of the total city budget, with a lot of effort made to keep roads open. As soon as snow begins, the city sends out its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and main roads. Local roads and laneways are salted soon after. Plowing begins on expressways when 2.5 cm of snow has accumulated, and on the main roads when there's five cm of snow, and continues until the operation is complete.

Can I park on the street during a snowstorm?

If possible, keep parked cars off the street so that plows can do their job. You might get a "friendly tow" if your car is in the way. If your car isn't where you left it and the street has been cleared of snow, look on nearby streets. If you still can't find it call 311 or Toronto Police Services at 416-808-2222.

How about parking on a snow route?

Parking is prohibited for a period of 72 hours on a designated snow route only when a "major snowstorm condition" (more than 25 cm of snow) is called. The tow won't be so friendly then: you're liable to pay up to $300 ($60 fine plus towing and impound costs) for parking on a snow route during a snow emergency. But the last snow emergency was declared in 1999, says Moreno, when then mayor Mel Lastman called the army in.

Where does the plowed snow go?

In most cases, snow gets pushed to boulevards and bigger roads nearby. But when the snow starts adding up, the city removes it to one of five snow storage sites dotted throughout the city and "lets Mother Nature do her thing," says Moreno.

Please, do not park your motor vehicle in your driveway in such a way in that it overhangs or sits on the sidewalk.

The sidewalk snowplows would have go out onto the road to bypass that section of blocked sidewalk. Want the sidewalk snowplow to clear your section of sidewalk, park fully on your driveway.

WARNING: You can get a parking ticket, up to $150, for "parking on the sidewalk".

PS. Slowly, ever slowly, the city is adding sidewalks (at least on one side side of the street) to streets without sidewalks.
 

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Interestingly, the downtown elite are the ones who don't get to enjoy having their sidewalks plowed.
 
I find that the sidewalk ploughing can be rather spotty. I'm pretty sure we got more than 5cm of snow this past Thursday, and they didn't plough anything.
 
The City should either start enforcing fines on people who don't plow their sidewalks, plow all sidewalks, or offer a sidewalk plowing service for an annual fee.

Any of the above would be better than the status quo. Walking in this city, especially on residential streets, is a hazard in the winter. Last winter it was especially bad because of the ice storm.
 
The City should either start enforcing fines on people who don't plow their sidewalks, plow all sidewalks, or offer a sidewalk plowing service for an annual fee.

Any of the above would be better than the status quo. Walking in this city, especially on residential streets, is a hazard in the winter. Last winter it was especially bad because of the ice storm.

My god, yes. Last winter was deadly. No one shovels or salts anything in some areas.
 
A ride on a sidewalk snowplow.

Man that was oddly relaxing and also exhilarating at the same time! Breaking through The mountains of snow!... And then cusually cruzin on the sideswalks.

And the MUSIC!

But RE plowing our streets, I agree that plowing should occur on all streets where present available technology permits.
 
They can start by making things a little easier for the sidewalk snowplows. The street sign poles could get damaged. Garage collection days mean the snowplowing of sidewalks may have to be delayed to the following day because of the garbage cans causing obstructions. The snowplow operators should be given the right to ticket vehicles that block the sidewalks, causing the operator to bypass sections of sidewalk.
 
We may see some changes to sidewalk plowing this year, the city is tendering for a new 7 year winter maintenance contract that is to begin next fall. So far, the RFQs for arterial/collector/expressway road salting/plowing and snow removal have been issued and closed. The RFQs for local road sanding/salting close this week and interestingly enough the city seems to be contracting more of this portion of winter maintenance work out. Presently, the city performs most local road spreading duties with 2 depot routes being contracted out, this contract will see 3 additional depot routes (Ellesmere, Morningside and Disco Road Depots) contracted out.

I will keep a lookout for the call documents for sidewalk plowing when they're posted, hopefully improvements will be implemented with this new contract.
 
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They can start by making things a little easier for the sidewalk snowplows. The street sign poles could get damaged. Garage collection days mean the snowplowing of sidewalks may have to be delayed to the following day because of the garbage cans causing obstructions. The snowplow operators should be given the right to ticket vehicles that block the sidewalks, causing the operator to bypass sections of sidewalk.

Or we could make the hard decision and force EVERYONE to shovel the sidewalk in front of their house. For the dozen times it snows in Toronto why do we pay so much for sidewalk plowing?

Hire enforcement officers (cost neutral with fines) and have no exemptions. Pay the neighbourhood kid $20 if you are elderly (or ask a neighbour...most will gladly help out for free). This $240 that you have paid is a cost of living in Toronto.

Historically every person was obligated to plow the road in front of their house...the sidewalk is a small sacrifice.
 
Or we could make the hard decision and force EVERYONE to shovel the sidewalk in front of their house. For the dozen times it snows in Toronto why do we pay so much for sidewalk plowing?

Hire enforcement officers (cost neutral with fines) and have no exemptions. Pay the neighbourhood kid $20 if you are elderly (or ask a neighbour...most will gladly help out for free). This $240 that you have paid is a cost of living in Toronto.

Historically every person was obligated to plow the road in front of their house...the sidewalk is a small sacrifice.

Think: heart attack. More seniors, more overweight people, electric wheelchairs, blind, etc..

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Sidewalk plowing in Toronto is a disgrace, and the idea that technology does not permit it in constrained spaces is false. Ottawa gets much more frequent snowfalls with greater volume of snow and has no difficulty plowing the sidewalks much more effectively and efficiently. In fact, the downtown areas have priority for sidewalk plowing (which makes sense given the higher volume of pedestrians).

Here is the sidewalk plow policy for Ottawa: http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/transportation-and-parking/road-and-sidewalk-maintenance/sidewalks

Really it's a question of the City of Toronto not wanting to expend resources to purchase/pay for operators of the correct equipment. However, this calculation may change with rising legal costs associated with slip-and-falls related to poor snow removal, especially since courts have been increasingly clear that responsibility for maintaining sidewalks rests primarily with the municipality, even if there are by-laws which attempt to circumvent the responsibility.
 
Who is responsible for the sidewalk on Shuter between sherbourne and jarvis that borders Moss park? It never gets plowed.
 

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