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
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
LIVE SOON Honda expected to announce Ontario EV battery plant, part of a $15B investment
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'