Depending where in Kitchener you live, you might not have to shovel your sidewalk this winter.

Or you might only have to shovel it for minor snowfalls. Or you might retain full responsibility for keeping it clear, but know that a bylaw officer will be around a little more often than usual to make sure you’re doing it.

Those are three of the five sidewalk-clearing pilot projects approved by city councillors Monday for the upcoming winter.

Winter sidewalk maintenance has been a political issue in the city for several years, with accessibility advocates arguing that the current complaint-based system leaves some sidewalks impassable for lengthy stretches of time.

Sharon Giles certainly agrees with that position. As co-chair of the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee, she’s been lobbying the city to take over full responsibility for clearing sidewalks.

“I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to rely on the kindness of strangers to shovel their walks,” she says.

Giles, who uses a wheelchair, estimates that she ended up stuck because of snow-covered sidewalks “at least half a dozen” times last winter. On other occasions, she stayed at home because she didn’t want to add to that tally.

“It’s just a very vulnerable position to be in,” she says.

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic describes sidewalk-clearing as a “moral issue” for the city, comparing it to the previous fight to install accessibility ramps.

 “This is really looking at a similar kind of issue, but in the winter months,” he says.

Kitchener has 1,202 kilometres of sidewalks. The city currently maintains about 216 of those kilometres, mainly on public property, at an average cost of a little more than $1.1 million per year.

The current system has resulted in at least 1,300 complaints to bylaw officers about snow-covered sidewalks in each of the last five years. In one year, there were nearly 3,000 complaints.

City officials believe the complaint-based system works well, noting that 94 to 98 per cent of complaints are resolved without city workers having to shovel sidewalks themselves.

The first of the five options approved for a test run is to add a dedicated bylaw officer who will proactively monitor sidewalk conditions in certain areas of the city. According to a report prepared for city councillors, four such officers could check every sidewalk in the city twice per winter at a total cost of $170,000 per year.

In another area of the city, 1,500 or so homes will see the city look after clearing all snow and ice from sidewalks. A different 1,500 homes will see city-paid crews clear all snow on occasions when more than 8 cm has fallen. City officials estimate the cost of full clearing for the whole city at $3.6 million per year, and clearing anything deeper than 8 cm at $2 million per year.

Also to be tested this winter are the installation of sensor stations to create an online platform with real-time data about the state of the city’s sidewalks – expanding it to cover the whole city is estimated to cost $150,000 – and providing The Working Centre with a $26,700 grant to offer a sidewalk clearing assistance program for people unable to shovel the snow themselves.

The pilot programs must still be ratified by city council, which is comprised of the same people as the committee that voted on Monday. A report gauging the effectiveness of each option would then be brought to councillors next June.

The total cost of piloting all five options is estimated at approximately $750,000.

With reporting by Natalie van Rooy