Shovelling in a Winter Wonderland
by Michelle Varem
It’s that time of year again – when the snow starts falling and doesn’t stop until spring (and even then…). Heavy snowfall has been predicted this winter and we’ll all be out with our shovels working hard, if we aren’t already. In a large community like ours with mixed use pathway systems and sidewalks, every winter the question comes up – who is responsible for what?
Some easy ones to start – Canada Post is responsible for clearing around community mailboxes, the City of Calgary is responsible for bus stop pads. Business owners and commercial areas are responsible for their own snow clearing. Homeowners are generally responsible for the sidewalk in front of their homes. They can shovel their own or contract out to a private company or an enterprising student down the street. There is the odd time where another agency is responsible for sidewalks – for example in some town home communities the condo board contracts out snow removal. Where it starts to get complicated is when homes border public pathways. Who is responsible for these pathways? The City? The Homeowners Association? A private business?
The City has a tool where you can find out a bit information on this. At www.maps.calgary.ca/PathwaysandBikeways homeowners can see which parts of the public pathway system are cleared by the City and which are cleared by other agencies such as school boards or universities, private establishments, or residential owners. If your home borders a public pathway and you aren’t sure if it falls under your responsibility or not, you can do an address look up using the search tool and click on the highlighted pathway next to your property to learn more.
For residents who are a part of the Springbank Hill HOA, homeowners are responsible for public pathways bordering their property, although the HOA does clear a few of the pathways through parks and sidewalks with no adjacent housing. For residents in the Springborough HOA – in the past the Homeowners Association has provided snow clearing on some pathways, however that is no longer the case as of 2022, and it is now up to homeowners. This was discussed at that year’s AGM and reflected in a fee decrease.
Overall – homeowners should be aware of what parts of the sidewalk or pathway bordering their property they are responsible for, hopefully the information found here can help with that and with keeping our neighbours a little bit safer from a bad slip or fall. City bylaws state that snow and ice must be removed within 24 hours of a snowfall ending. One last thing to remember this winter is to check in with your neighbours and see if they ever need help with their shovelling. Being a snow angel and taking a few extra minutes to zip up the sidewalk for a neighbour who is injured or on vacation is an easy thing for most of us to do and that kindness goes a long way.
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