Sidewalk snow removal bylaw enforcement in Regina, one year later

It’s been one year since the City of Regina enforced a bylaw for snow removal on sidewalks for residents. Has the bylaw helped citizens to shovel their walks or not?

The City’s Bylaw Enforcement said they’re not looking at greater enforcement but rather at going to the next step in the process of trying to gain compliance. 

“So, the first step, regardless of whether the bylaw was new or not, is just education,” said bylaw enforcement manager Andrea McNeil-Wilson. “Trying to engage with residents so that they’re aware of what the requirements are.”

She said the City is making contact and if they receive a service request for a property or if an officer is in the field, they will attempt to make contact at the door. If not, a notice of noncompliance will be issued informing the property owner or the person who lives there that their sidewalks contravene the clean property bylaw.

If the property is located within the area, defined in the bylaw called Schedule B, which for all intents and purposes is the downtown area, then they have 24 hours at the end of the snowfall event or after the snow has been deposited to remove any snow or ice.

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Any properties outside of Schedule B, which is essentially the rest of the city, have 48 hours to clear the sidewalks.

2:15 Grab your shovel: Tuesday snowfall brings Regina’s new sidewalk clearing bylaw into practice

“Since the first snowfall at the beginning of November, and this is as of December 31st, we’ve had a total of 468 cases that have been started and either closed or are still open,” said McNeil-Wilson.

“Of the cases that have been investigated by bylaw enforcement officers, they’ve issued 292 notices … we’ve only had 51 of the total cases where the city has had to then go out to remedy that violation.“

McNeil-Wilson said the City is currently sitting at a compliance rate of 86.6 per cent. Most of her staff who have been interacting with folks say situations very rarely get difficult. She believes what residents truly want is to have inclusiveness and accessibility for members of their property.

McNeil-Wilson calls the program a success so far, given that compliance has gone up 15 per cent from when the regulations first came into place.

“That tells me that we are moving in the right direction in terms of educating property owners and residents as to the new requirements,” she said.

Regina’s sidewalk snow-clearing regulations came into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. Sidewalk Snow Clearing is a provision of The Clean Property Bylaw.