Advertisement

Hundreds of complaints but still no tickets over uncleared Vancouver sidewalks

Click to play video: 'Snowy sidewalks continue to be problems for Lower Mainland pedestrians'
Snowy sidewalks continue to be problems for Lower Mainland pedestrians
Homeowners and municiipalities that don't clear their sidewalks continue to make things difficult for pedestrians, especially those with mobility issues. Christa Dao reports – Dec 21, 2022

After fielding hundreds of additional complaints about uncleared sidewalks since the latest round of snow, the City of Vancouver says it has yet to ticket anyone.

Under city bylaws, residents and businesses must clear the sidewalks outside their property by 10 a.m. the day after a snowfall.

Albert Shamess, the city’s director of waste management and green operations, told Global News Wednesday that there had been about 300 complaints related to the latest snowstorm.

“For the most part people are quite cooperative and try and meet the requirements of the bylaw. Sometimes maybe beyond their control, they may need a little more time. That’s why we aren’t issuing the tickets the first day,” Shamess said.

Story continues below advertisement

“We want to make sure we’re not penalizing them for situations beyond their control.”

Click to play video: 'Difficult driving conditions in the Lower Mainland with snow, slush & icy patches'
Difficult driving conditions in the Lower Mainland with snow, slush & icy patches

Under the city’s process, after a complaint is received, a bylaw inspector will issue a warning notice to the resident. If the walkway still hasn’t been cleared within 24 hours, they can issue a $250 ticket. If the walkway still isn’t cleared after that, tickets can go as high as $750, a process that requires prosecution, Shamess explained.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

He said often when the city receives a complaint, the walkways has been cleared before the inspector arrives the first time.

After Vancouver received its first major round of snow at the end of November, the city confirmed it had received about 900 complaints.

Story continues below advertisement

No tickets were issued on those complaints either. At the time, a spokesperson for the city said it preferred to focus on education rather than penalties during the first snowstorm of the season.

Shamess said the city handed out 279 tickets on about 1,500 complaints for over the entire winter season last year.

About two-thirds of those snow scofflaws cleaned up their walkways after being ticketed he said, while the city hit 97 with higher fines for failing to take action.

Sponsored content

AdChoices