Public works committee to review changes to winter maintenance policy

Snow clearing on residential roads as well as a sidewalk-clearing bylaw are among the proposed updates to the City of Regina’s winter maintenance policy.

On Wednesday morning, the city’s public works and infrastructure committee will review those proposals. If accepted by council at the end of the month, they will be considered during the 2021 budget process.

Administration is recommending nine enhancements to the policy, which was approved by council in 2007. Since then, the city has grown, “environmental conditions have changed, and the wants and needs of residents has evolved,” reads a report to the committee.

The recommendation on residential roads is to upgrade the classification of those that carry more than 1,500 vehicles per day. Those roads would be counted as Category 3 roads, or major collector roads, with examples being Whelan Drive or Dalgliesh Drive. Plowing happens within 48 hours of a 10-centimetre snowfall.

All residential roads, the report says, would be plowed after snowfalls greater than 15 cm. Currently, they are cleared after snow events of 25 cm.

“Feedback from the survey and Service Requests suggest that general satisfaction is low regarding snow clearing on residential roads,” the report says.

“Administration is recommending that residential roads that are acting more as collector roads serving over 1500 VPD be classified as a higher priority and included in systematic plowing operations.”

The cost for this change would be $304,000 per year, the report says.

School unloading zones would also be upgraded to Category 3 or higher, at a cost of $100,000 per year. That would result in the removal of snow ridges to make more space for parking, pickup and dropoff.

Currently, snow ridges are removed when they exceed 30 cm in the unloading zone or when they exceed 75 cm on the rest of the road adjacent to the school.

The report also recommends plowing all sidewalks adjacent to transit stops, which aligns with city goals to offer year-round transportation and promoting active transportation. This would cost $339,000 per year.

A few policy changes could be done without an increase to costs, including upgrading the plowing of transit routes and bike lanes to Category 2, and better timing for ice control at intersections.

Also, a sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw is proposed, where property owners would have to clear sidewalks within 24 to 48 hours of a snowfall. If council takes this route, it would be presented with a bylaw amendment in the third quarter of 2021.

The city’s winter maintenance budget for 2020 is $8.809 million. Total expenses for this year are expected to be $8.25 million after factoring in the financial impact of COVID-19.