No bylaw changes needed, no fines for clearing public sidewalks

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This article was published 10/01/2023 (970 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg won’t need to revamp its bylaws to remove the risk of volunteer shovelers being fined for clearing residential sidewalks, according to staff who reviewed the issue.

On Tuesday, council’s public works committee voted to take no action on a motion to study potential changes to bylaws and policies. The motion aimed to ensure residents are allowed to clear snow off sidewalks and rescind any possible fines for doing so.

Instead, the committee received the motion “as information,” after hearing current bylaws don’t actually raise that risk.

“Upon further review of the city’s bylaws, we can confirm that there is no bylaw that prohibits Winnipeggers from clearing public sidewalks. We encourage Winnipeggers to clear public sidewalks adjacent to their properties — so long as they do it safely,” Michael Cantor, Winnipeg manager of streets maintenance, told the committee.

Cantor said the city recommends residents don’t take the risk of clearing roadways or on-street bike lanes “as this creates a hazard in traffic.”

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, said the bylaw was vague on the matter and needed to be clarified by the city’s legal department. Lukes said it’s now clear.

“There are no fines. There will be no fines,” she said during Tuesday’s meeting.

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The matter was cast into the spotlight over the past two months, after winter road conditions set in. Some groups complained bike lanes and sidewalks had been poorly cleared and began organizing their own do-it-yourself snow-clearing efforts to address the problem.

At one point, the city warned it could fine residents who took part in those efforts, though a spokesman later said officials have no intention of actually issuing financial penalties.

The motion of reassessing bylaws to address the issue still requires a final council vote.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.