Lawn vs. street: shovellers discuss what to do with snow

There are a few inevitabilities in life: death, taxes, and that if you live in Saskatchewan at some point you’re going to have to shovel some snow.

Most people, when they’re shoveling a driveway or sidewalk, will throw the snow onto a lawn or boulevard out of the way. But there are some who just toss it out into the street.

“No. They shouldn’t,” said Marcel Barnabe with finality in his voice.

He was out attacking the snow on his driveway with a snowblower on Tuesday afternoon – the chute pointed directly at his lawn.

“I’ve seen people put it on the street – it’s too dangerous! Vehicles come by and they try to brake, they can’t.”

Brian Black was also shoveling nearby, and his reason for not throwing snow into the street is about helping out his neighbours.

“I can remember last February we had a lot of extra snow and it was really deep on the streets here, so I don’t want to add to that.”

In Regina, there’s actually a bylaw against throwing snow into the street – either from private property or city sidewalks. If the city gets called and the shoveller gets caught, they could end up with a fine of up to $2,000.

The City of Regina said it hasn’t had a big surge of calls about that bylaw since last March. The numbers show there was an increase in calls about people throwing snow into the streets last year over the year before. In the vast majority of calls, the city recorded either no violation or voluntary compliance, but there were two cases last year in which the city had to pursue enforcement.