Huskies basketball coach breaks Canada West wins record
Feb 03, 2025
Lisa Thomaidis has led the team to two national championships and nine Canada West titles.
In an attempt to improve accessibility in the winter, council is expected to make changes to a bylaw that would require property owners to clear adjacent sidewalks after snowfall.
Currently, owners of commercial buildings, parking lots, vacant properties and some apartment buildings must clear sidewalks within 24 to 48 hours of snowfall.
“The City encourages residents to be a good neighbour and clear their sidewalks. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, and it creates inconsistent snow and ice clearing by property owners along the sidewalks thereby causing accessibility challenges for pedestrians and users of the transit system,” a report from administration reads.
If approved at Wednesday’s council meeting, changes to the Clean Property Bylaw would require all property owners in the city to clear sidewalks adjacent to their properties. This would take effect on Jan. 1, after an awareness program to alert residents and businesses of the change.
Property owners would need to do so within 48 hours of snowfall, according to the amended bylaw that will be presented to council. For those whose properties fall within areas listed in the bylaw’s Schedule B — “in and around the downtown area” as administration describes it — sidewalk clearing must happen within 24 hours of snowfall.
Enforcement of the new provisions would take three additional bylaw officers, an administrative bylaw worker, another position within the legal services branch and ticket management software. The administration’s report says this would cost $510,000.
Those bylaw officers will also deal with overgrown grass, plants and graffiti during the summer.
Failing to clear ice and snow from the sidewalk could result in a $100 fine, the new proposed bylaw states.
The city would also support and expand community-run programs, like Snow Angels, that help those who cannot physically do the snow and ice clearing. Right now, the city distributes $50,000 in grants for the Snow Angels program.