City of Kitchener adding bylaw inspectors to monitor snow on sidewalks this winter
The City of Kitchener will be hiring more staff to monitor snow on sidewalks this winter.
The program, approved at a recent council meeting, will see the city add an additional four bylaw inspectors to the existing four. It is estimated to cost about $163,000.
“That will include everything from wages to equipment to uniforms,” said Gloria MacNeil, director of bylaw enforcement with the City of Kitchener.
The program starts Nov. 15 of this year and runs until April 15, 2022.
Staff said this is what city council asked for during budget discussions.
“This report was really a response to that directive from council,” said MacNeil.
In the 2020 to 2021 winter season, Kitchener staff received more than 1,800 complaints about snow as part of the city's reactive program.
The city hopes the new staff will lead to fewer complaints.
“Just to ensure that we have better coverage throughout the city and that we’ve got safe, accessible sidewalks for everybody,” said MacNeil.
Accessibility advocates said snow on sidewalks can be a challenge.
“It could be dangerous because people have to go on the roadway,” said Edward Faruzel, Executive Director of Kitchener Waterloo AccessAbility.
Faruzel said it is nearly impossible to get through unshovelled sidewalks in a wheelchair.
“They’re not meant for going through four or five inches of snow,” Faruzel said.
But Faruzel said he's still skeptical about the city's new program.
“It might help a little bit but I think a better solution is still just having the sidewalks plowed,” he said.
City staff are planning to target enforcement in areas with high volumes of complaints and non-compliance.
Officials also said it is up to residents to follow the rules and clear their own sidewalks. City staff are only responsible for the sidewalks that are abutting city-owned lands or in areas where there are no private properties.
Those who don’t clear their own sidewalks will be given a bill by the city that amounts to what it costs the city to clear it. City staff estimates that the bill is typically up to $250.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.