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Council to discuss sidewalk snow clearing options in 2023 budget

All sidewalks must be cleared within 36 hours of a snowfall regardless of a person's age or ability
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A City of Cambridge sidewalk plow clears snow in Hespeler.

Ward 7 councillor Scott Hamilton will be lobbying to enhance city snow removal services during 2023 budget deliberation meetings this month.

Providing seniors and individuals with special needs with taxpayer funded sidewalk clearing in the winter months would minimally add to the total taxes paid by each resident, he says.

“It’s a 0.17 per cent impact on the tax levy,” Hamilton said.

“That works out to $0.21 per tax paying household a month, or $2.52 for the year. I think a lot of people would be okay paying that to make sure their neighbours are taken care of.”

On any given day during the winter months, Hamilton will open his email to a flood of messages from people who need assistance in clearing snow from their sidewalks.

Due to age, a disability or special needs, some residents in the city are unable to shovel their snow within the 36 hour bylaw mandated by the city.

“I found out about this issue through communicating with residents that needed help during my campaign,” Hamilton said.

“When I started looking into it, the last time the city addressed the issue was 2005 when they invested $10,000 into snow removal programs. Since then, there’s been no action despite inflation and the rising number of seniors.”

The city currently supports Community Support Connections, a local non-profit that has been providing snow removal services in the city for years by sourcing people for the Snow Buddy program.

A snow buddy will come and shovel your sidewalk, but it still costs the homeowner up to $25 per hour, Hamilton says.

“Funding goes through Community Support Connections and then they go get a Snow Buddy,” Hamilton said.

“The problem is sometimes they aren’t available or they’re hard to find. They can be inconsistent and some people may not be able to pay.”

The issue prompted Hamilton to put forth a motion to make snow removal service free of charge for seniors and people will special needs at a February 2022 council meeting.

With support, Hamilton will now be speaking on the issue at the upcoming budget deliberations on Feb 16.

“I’m going to be advocating for Option C in the 2023 Draft Budget and Business Plan that states sidewalk winter maintenance services be delivered by the city,” he said.

“Community Support Connections could still receive funding to source individuals but instead of contracting out through the volunteer Snow Buddy program, city staff would deliver those services. It would ensure that if you sign up for the program you're going to get it.”

By bringing on more city staff, it will also assist in other seasonal programs such as those needed for gardening and city parks. Retaining seasonal staff can become an issue with the ever-changing economic climate, Hamilton says.

The city’s bylaw team received 383 complaints of snowy and icy sidewalks in 2022. As of Feb. 1, 2023, the number of complaints has reached 123.

Ward 5 councillor Sheri Roberts, who uses a wheelchair, knows first-hand how important having sidewalks cleared in a timely manner is.

For the time being, she hopes residents will continue to be good neighbours, make sure their sidewalks are clear and help others who may need it.

“Uncleared sidewalks make it difficult for people with mobility issues, the elderly, and parents with strollers to get around our city safely,” Roberts said.

“I know that the city taking over the responsibility of snow removal will be discussed at the upcoming budget meetings and it’s something that all of council will need to discuss and weigh the financial burden to the taxpayer.”

When approached with the idea of the city taking over the clearing of all sidewalks, Hamilton wasn’t against it but feels that it’s a much larger conversation. 

For now he wants to focus on the people who really need the service.

“The issue with doing it for all sidewalks is you need a lot of equipment, administrative planning and bodies to do it,” he said.

“If we had the funding I’d be fine with it, but we’re facing a difficult economic climate, with inflation and interest rates. I’m comfortable saying right now that we need to help those people in our community who can’t do it themselves.”