FAQ

Yes, if your property is located within the Full Service Sidewalk Clearing pilot area, the City has been clearing sidewalks in front of your property after any snow occurrences within 24 hours.

This pilot is about understanding the costs, logistics and implications of City-led sidewalk clearing. As a result, the pilot area was selected as a representative example of sidewalks across Kitchener. The area includes a variety of sidewalk types, trail connections and other elements that will provide insight on maintenance in a variety of conditions.

The purpose of this pilot program is to evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, resources and cost implications of providing sidewalk clearing services after all snow occurrences on sidewalks across the city within 24 hours. Data has been collected and analyzed and the results will be presented to Council in June 2020 to determine the future of this pilot program.

No. The Full Service Sidewalk Clearing project is a pilot program which is being conducted in the 2019/20 winter season. Data has been collected and analyzed and the results will be presented to Council in June 2020 to determine the future of this program.

To report a property damage or to file a complaint please contact the City of Kitchener Corporate Contact Centre at 519-741-2345 or TTY: 1-866-969-9994 or email us at info@kitchener.ca.

The cost of this service is calculated based on the cost of hiring staff, buying equipment, buying material, etc.

The cost of implementing this service would be equal to an 8.5 percent increase in the City's portion of the property tax bill. This is about an extra $100 per year on the average ($330,000 MPAC assessed value) tax bill. Please note that this would be in addition to any other impacts in any given year such as base municipal tax increases and Regional or School Board increases. This would also be in addition to any utility related tax increase including water, sanitary, storm and natural gas. Staff are proposing that this increase be phased in over three years.

This survey will remain open until April 20, 2020. We would appreciate if you could complete the survey by end of this date.

Your feedback on the program will be a key component of the findings presented to council, and will significantly impact any decisions about whether this service makes sense in our community.

For a PDF version, or to request a paper survey, please email wintersidewalk@kitchener.ca or call 519-741-2345.