After receiving numerous complaints throughout the winter regarding residential sidewalk snow removal, the Cold Lake city council has reviewed the city’s bylaws and policies to determine if any changes are needed for the next winter season.
Mayor Craig Copeland commended Municipal Enforcement for their proactive approach during the past winter. “They got out into the neighborhoods to look around and make sure people knew they were supposed to be clearing the snow instead of waiting for complaints to come in,” Copeland said.
Feedback on the policy varied, with some residents feeling that Municipal Enforcement was either not assertive enough or too quick to issue tickets for bylaw infractions. Others suggested that snow removal should be handled by the city itself.
The current policy requires property owners to clear snow from sidewalks, but the council considered whether the city should take over this responsibility. This option would involve hiring contractors to clear the approximately 111,500 meters of sidewalks in the city. Based on average snowfall levels and contractor quotes, the cost for a full winter of sidewalk snow removal was estimated at about $1.6 million, subject to weather conditions.
A third option was to amend parts of the bylaw, such as adjusting the timeframe for snow removal, reducing fines, or developing a snow removal program specifically for seniors or those with disabilities. Clearing these properties, based on the number of addresses registered for the current Snow Angel’s program, was estimated to cost about $400,000 for the season. This higher cost reflects the need for contractors to repeatedly pack and unpack equipment at each specific address rather than conducting a continuous run of snow clearing.
Mayor Copeland emphasized the importance of community support in handling snow removal. “While the city receives complaints and frustrations from residents that sidewalks aren’t being cleaned in front of properties, its appreciated that there’s a wide array of opinions on how enforcement should be handled or who should be responsible,” he said. “We’re community and this is what we do. We support each other and our neighbors: and clearing sidewalks is a part of that.”
After a thorough discussion, the council decided to maintain the existing policy, allowing Municipal Enforcement to continue having the discretion to issue tickets to residents who do not clear their sidewalks.
