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City of Waterloo Council has directed staff to review and report back on possible sidewalk snow clearing improvements for consideration as part of the 2024-2026 budget process. Council would like to hear recommendations to improve the current shared model where both the city and private property owners clear snow from sidewalks; we are not looking at city-wide clearing of all sidewalks at this time.
Issues identified by the community
Not having a clear path along an entire route of travel (only some parts of a route have been cleared, or the full width of the route hasn't been cleared)
Intersections and crosswalks blocked by snow piles from road plowing, or not being cleared to the road
Road plows pushing snow onto curb faced sidewalks
Bus stop access (sidewalks not cleared to get to the stop, the stop itself is not cleared, or snow piles block access to the bus at the curb)
Snow blocking people's access to pedestrian crossing signal buttons
More information about what we've heard from the community so far is available here.
What are we doing?
The project team is sharing information about sidewalk snow clearing through this project page, and there is a public survey open through May 3, 2023 to gather general input to help us make recommendations for improvement. We are reviewing our current equipment and methods for city snow clearing and enforcement, and looking into options that could help us better maintain the sidewalks, walkways and trails that we are responsible for. We are also reviewing our snow clearing bylaw rules, and looking at ways to increase awareness and compliance for snow clearing by property owners. And in addition to the general survey, we will hold discussions with key impacted community groups, to talk about which improvements to our shared system could help them the most.
Stay informed
There is lots of information available on this project page. We encourage you to subscribe to follow the project to receive updates as we continue our review and develop recommendations for Council.
City of Waterloo Council has directed staff to review and report back on possible sidewalk snow clearing improvements for consideration as part of the 2024-2026 budget process. Council would like to hear recommendations to improve the current shared model where both the city and private property owners clear snow from sidewalks; we are not looking at city-wide clearing of all sidewalks at this time.
Issues identified by the community
Not having a clear path along an entire route of travel (only some parts of a route have been cleared, or the full width of the route hasn't been cleared)
Intersections and crosswalks blocked by snow piles from road plowing, or not being cleared to the road
Road plows pushing snow onto curb faced sidewalks
Bus stop access (sidewalks not cleared to get to the stop, the stop itself is not cleared, or snow piles block access to the bus at the curb)
Snow blocking people's access to pedestrian crossing signal buttons
More information about what we've heard from the community so far is available here.
What are we doing?
The project team is sharing information about sidewalk snow clearing through this project page, and there is a public survey open through May 3, 2023 to gather general input to help us make recommendations for improvement. We are reviewing our current equipment and methods for city snow clearing and enforcement, and looking into options that could help us better maintain the sidewalks, walkways and trails that we are responsible for. We are also reviewing our snow clearing bylaw rules, and looking at ways to increase awareness and compliance for snow clearing by property owners. And in addition to the general survey, we will hold discussions with key impacted community groups, to talk about which improvements to our shared system could help them the most.
Stay informed
There is lots of information available on this project page. We encourage you to subscribe to follow the project to receive updates as we continue our review and develop recommendations for Council.
City of Waterloo Council has directed staff to review and report back on possible improvements to the current shared model of sidewalk snow clearing as part of the 2024-2026 budget process. The City is not considering city-wide clearing of all sidewalks at this time. This survey will be open through May 3, 2023.
Recommendations to Council will offer improvements to the City’s current shared model where both the city and property owners clear snow from sidewalks. The focus will be on a review of sidewalk clearing at key areas, taking into consideration accessibility needs, proximity and connectivity to public transit, schools, hospitals, health services and other essential facilities in alignment with active transportation and transit routes. Staff are also reviewing sidewalk clearance practices in other similar communities.
Opportunities for improvement may include snow clearing at intersection corners, along curb faced sidewalks, enhanced compliance, enhanced support and volunteer services, and improved communications with a potential phased-in implementation as part of the upcoming city three-year budget process.
This survey is to gather general community input on opportunities to improve our current shared sidewalk snow clearing practices, and is only one piece of the engagement happening on this project. Staff are also following up with municipal partners, individuals who have delegated to council, and having focused discussions with interested and impacted parties.
Individual survey responses will not immediately be made available publicly, but your feedback (including overall results of surveys, and in some instances, unidentifiable and randomly chosen quotes or comments from surveys) may be published in publicly available reports at the end of the consultation period. Please note, if you choose to provide personal information in your comments, it will be available for City staff reviewing responses to this survey. Responses to surveys are subject to Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56 (as amended) and can be a part of a Freedom of Information request. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.
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