"Do better": Vancouver sidewalks a no-mans land for ice and snow removal

Dec 2 2022, 7:13 pm

When it snows in Vancouver, the city’s sidewalks and bike lanes can turn into a patchwork of barely passable routes. Why?

The City of Vancouver’s priority for winter maintenance is roads and bus routes, while residential side streets and sidewalks adjacent to non-City-owned property are left untouched.

“We have over 100 vehicles and equipment for snow and ice treatment along with 3000 tonnes of salt at our yards, and hundreds of personnel available to deploy as required,” the City told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“This year, the City also purchased two new machines that will assist with doing salt, brine, and plow treatments on the sidewalks on the Granville, Burrard, and Cambie Bridges. We are really pleased to have this equipment in the fleet as it will make it easier for our crews to do their work more quickly and effectively, as previously narrower sidewalk sections had to be treated by hand by crews.”

But sidewalks along non-city-owned property are all around the city, making it difficult for folks to travel when there’s snow and ice to contend with.

The City says that Vancouver property owners and occupants are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the full width of sidewalks – cleared by 10 am, no less.

“The public plays a large role in keeping Vancouver’s sidewalks and storm drains clear and the by-law relating to sidewalk clearing has remained unchanged since the 09/10 winter season,” the City of Vancouver said to Daily Hive Urbanized.

“All Vancouver property owners and occupants (tenants) are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the full width of sidewalks that surround their property.

  1. By 10 am on the morning following a snowfall.
  2. In effect seven days a week.
  3. Failure to remove snow and ice may result in fines”

That stance received heavy criticism in the days after Metro Vancouver’s transportation infrastructure reeled from just a small amount of snow.

“On work days I cannot take time off work to have it done by 10 am,” wrote one Twitter user. “There is a myriad of reasons that someone might not shovel their walk by 10 am,” wrote another.

With this policy, property owners who don’t live in the city or who own multiple properties would have to hire snow and ice removal services, and still, there’s no guarantee that they’d be done by 10 am. That could leave them subject to fines from the city.

The reason for the 10 am deadline is unclear. If sidewalks did have to be cleared by a certain time, wouldn’t earlier make more sense, as people need to get to work in the morning?

As for bike lanes, the 16 most-used bike routes in the city are on its priority list for snow and ice removal. Under Vancouver City Council direction, City crews are required to prioritize treatment of pedestrian pathways before adjacent bike lanes.

Vancouverites can report issues regarding snow and ice removal on City property by using the Van311 app.

The City could not provide details on how many complaints they have received this week about uncleared roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes. They did provide historical data for the last five winter seasons, saying that the City has issued 5,128 notices to properties and 527 bylaw violation fines.

So, Vancouverites trying to navigate snow-covered, icy sidewalks are at the mercy of private property owners to keep them safe. What could go wrong?

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