EDMONTON -- Clearing the snow from your walk is part of life during Edmonton’s winters, but not everyone’s happy with the job his or her neighbours are doing.
CTV News used numbers from the city’s open data portal to develop a map of complaints by neighbourhood.
The data shows the number of snow on walk complaints to the city’s 311 line over the course of the winter so far, from November 2020 to the end of January 2021.
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The numbers have been filtered for duplicate complaints, those redirected elsewhere, and those deemed not to be a bylaw offence.
According to city data, the neighbourhoods with the most complaints so far this winter were:
- Alberta Avenue - 74
- Pleasantview - 62
- Westmount - 59
- Silver Berry - 58
- Ottewell - 54
The average number of complaints per neighbourhood was 7.6 and 120 (mostly industrial areas) had zero complaints.
Section seven of the Community Standards Bylaw states that all sidewalks must be cleared of snow and ice.
“The City has specific standards for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks in Edmonton. When private property owners fail to meet the standards, bylaw tickets are issued and owners are invoiced the cost to have contractors clean the sidewalks,” according to the city’s snow on sidewalks enforcement page.
The city’s bylaw doesn’t provide a timeframe for snow removal, only stating that “a person shall maintain any sidewalk adjacent to land they own or occupy clear of all snow and ice.”
The city says it examines each case individually, takes into account unique factors and prefers enforcement only when needed.
It encourages people to discuss concerns with the property owner before filing a formal complaint.
Complaints have a near 99 per cent compliance rate after they are lodged with only 30 enforcement actions being issued out of more than 3,000 complaints over the course of the winter so far.
Offenders can be issued a $100 ticket and an invoice for snow and ice clearing for failing to comply.
The city says complaints are assessed within four business days and are prioritized based on severity, location and weather.
