By Joel Kom, Calgary Herald
Those who repeatedly fail to clear their sidewalks of ice and snow could be slapped with a $250 fine. The reduced penalty comes as city officials said they've had 10,500 complaints about people leaving ice and snow untouched in the past three months, eating up significant amounts of bylaw officers' time.
"We're spending quite a lot of money having very expensive officers go and remind them again . . . to shovel your snow," said bylaw chief Bill Bruce, noting about 1,000 property owners could be considered repeat offenders. Bruce initially proposed a $350 penalty for people who repeatedly let snow remain on their sidewalks, but enough aldermen on the committee thought that was too much.
They settled instead on the $250 fine, which would be tacked on to the $150 bill the city gives the property owner for crews having to do a cleanup.
Any first-time offender would receive a warning and, if they didn't obey the city's order to clear the sidewalk within 24 hours, they'd get billed for $150. The $250 fine would be imposed only for subsequent offences.
If the proposal gets council approval, it would mark the first specific penalty for failing to remove ice and snow from a sidewalk.
Ald. Andre Chabot said a lower fine was more defensible given the city's inability to clear its own sidewalks, alluding to criticism the city took for its own snow-clearing efforts earlier this winter.
"It's difficult to impose a by-law on the average resident if we're not able to respond to our own cleanups," he said. Chabot said he also had concerns about people being fined when they're away.
Ald. Druh Farrell said the fine sends a message. "Certainly snow clearing is being seen as optional by several thousand Calgarians," she said.
Indeed, Bruce told the committee that some people openly admit they don't touch their sidewalks until the city forces their hand.
"There's the person who tells me on the phone that 'I never shovel my walk until I get a notice from the city,' " he said.
Farrell said clearing sidewalks is also a public safety issue, saying she hears from seniors who either slip and fall or are afraid to go out because of icy walkways.
Some Calgary residents said they liked the proposed fine.
"It's dangerous, particularly for seniors," West Hillhurst resident Madeleine Mangels said of slippery sidewalks. "I almost turned people in. I couldn't walk on the sidewalk."
Others said the $400 penalty total -- the fine plus the cleanup bill--was too much.
"I understand seniors have trouble getting around, and that's too bad.But then there's the whole thing about the city not clearing the roads. That's dangerous, too," said Tarah Reesor.
"One hundred dollars (should be) the maximum," said Roy Banack. "It's enough to hit them in the pocket."
jkom@theherald.canwest.com
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
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