Hamilton is still a winter away from implementation, but a contractor has been chosen to be responsible for the city’s enhanced sidewalk snow-clearing program.
Starting in the winter of 2022-2023, the city will clear an additional 469 kilometres of sidewalk along transit routes and near schools, whenever there is 5 cm or more of snowfall.
The public works committee on Monday voted to award the five-year contract to low bidder Forest Ridge Landscaping for $3.1 million.
Another $1.3 million has been set aside in the city’s operating budget for sand, salt and to pay for any repairs resulting from property damage.
Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann is “really happy” to offer the service, saying it comes down at its core to be “equity in action.”
“We ought to be doing everything we can to align our service delivery, to support those transit riders getting back on the bus, as we recover from this pandemic”, says Nann.
Hamilton has about 2,400 kilometres of sidewalk, and about two-thirds will still not be cleared by the city going forward, largely within residential areas.
In such cases, Mike Field, the city’s acting director of transportation operations, says residents will still be responsible for “within 24 hours of the completion of a winter storm event, clear the snow from the sidewalks in front of their properties.”
Field adds that approving the contract one year ahead of service delivery will give the contractor time to hire staff and acquire the equipment they need.