With more freezing temperatures on the way this week and many sidewalks still uncleared, many municipalities across Metro Vancouver have been stepping up enforcement.
Rules about clearing sidewalks of snow vary from municipality to municipality, but residents in most of them have to clear their sidewalks by 10 a.m. the morning after the snowfall.
READ MORE: Did you clear your sidewalks yet? Deadlines and rules in Lower Mainland municipalities
However, some people are not playing by the rules.
Global News did some digging and discovered the number of tickets issued in different municipalities to residents for not clearing their sidewalks so far this year.
The numbers are the highest in Vancouver, where enforcement was stepped up last week.
Jerry Dobrovolny, General Manager of Engineering for the City of Vancouver, said they have received thousands of complaints of uncleared sidewalks.
In all, over 9,000 warnings have been issued to residents. He says there are several hundred cases in which the city either issued violation tickets or filed a court application.
But Dobrovolny says their goal is behavioural change and not punishment.
“Whenever possible we will work with residents, and that’s partly why we provided free salt at fire halls,” he said. “It is our goal for people to clear their sidewalks and not to punish them.”
He says over 95 per cent of residents in Vancouver are actually complying with the bylaws.
Dobrovolny adds the distribution of salt at fire halls will continue if there is a need for it, even though demand for salt has dropped off.
He says they are confident they will have enough salt to handle this week’s cold snap.
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