Vancouver property owners could face $250 fine for not clearing snow from sidewalks
Often times immediately after a Vancouver snowfall, rain and rising temperatures will wash away any trace of the white stuff before residents have a chance to reach for a shovel.
But with daytime highs below zero, the snow that fell Tuesday is sticking around and that means property owners need to clear it away or face fines of $250 or more.
A city bylaw requires property owners to clear the entire width of the sidewalk – right down to the pavement – by 10:00 a.m. the day after a snowfall.
"We have seniors and people with mobility issues so we really want to make sure those people can get out and get where they need to go safely," said Amy Sidwell, the city's manager of street operations.
She says early in the season city staff generally take a more educational than punitive approach to enforcement.
Zero fines have been doled out so far this season.
Over the last five years, the city has issued 5,128 notices to property owners but only 527 bylaw violation fines.
"We are complaint based and inspection based. So, when we are out and receive complaints, we are also out looking at other properties in the neighbourhood to see if there's any compliance issues we need people to follow up on," Sidwell said.
The rules apply to residential and commercial properties, along with schools and parks.
On Thursday, more than 24 hours after the deadline for snow clearing, the sidewalk at Grandview Park on busy Commercial Drive remained quite icy.
And portions of the sidewalk around East Vancouver's Chief Maquinna Elementary School were nearly completely covered over.
But sidewalks around most other parks and schools appeared to have been well-maintained.
That was also the case for the vast majority of residential and business properties surveyed by CTV News on Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.