Not shovelling your portion of sidewalk in Windsor, Ont., could cost you up to $400

Windsor's David Steptoe isn't thrilled with how quickly people clear snow and ice from the sidewalks around their homes and businesses in the city.

"Over the years it's gotten to be less and less," he said.

Steptoe says he also believes the city seems to be prioritizing the downtown core and "touristy" areas when it comes to the snow removal it's responsible for.

"Almost like it's a second thought — you pay a lot of tax dollars and some of the side streets don't get looked after ... it's all about money."

Overall, Hasnain Salehwen, also from Windsor, thinks residents and the city are doing an "OK job."

"But it definitely can be improved, especially at night," he said. 

"I've slipped a few times. A bit more salt would help, too."

As of Jan. 15, the city has received 85 citizen complaints this winter about sidewalks not being cleared off, according to Windsor's manager of municipal licensing and enforcement. 

Craig Robertson says residential property owners have 12 hours after a snowfall to their sidewalks, while commercial business owners have four hours.

"Our first point of action is we'll knock on the door, we'll leave out some educational material or a door hanger that lets you know that the city does have a bylaw," he said.

If a property owner doesn't comply within 24 hours by removing the snow or ice, the city's next step is to take care of it themselves, according to Robertson.

"We will hire a contractor to come in and remove that snow and ice so that the sidewalk's safe for the community. Unfortunately, those costs will be applied on to the property owner or the business owner's property taxes."

The more work that's required, the more expensive it is for the contractor — the more it ends up costing the home or business owner. That could be as much as $400, he says. 

"If the snow gets packed down, that's going to be turned into ice and virtually impossible to come off the sidewalk. Our contractors are going to have to use other tools and measures to take care of that issue. Plus, that makes your neighbours angry if you're not doing it because they can't pass by."

If a sidewalk isn't cleared by a vacant lot or abandoned home, the city's snow sidewalk bylaw is enforced immediately, Robertson added.

"We'll just hire a contractor and get that cleaned up if we need to. And that gets applied to the taxes." 

In cases where sidewalks are the responsibility of a person with a disability — or where someone is unavailable to complete the work — Robertson says there are alternative options.

"Through our snow angels program or to contact 311; talk with the neighbours and let them know that maybe everybody can pull together and assist and help out. There's definitely other measures we try to take before we move forward with enforcement action."

Robertson says the bylaw, fines and enforcement are by no means a "moneymaking approach," rather a focused approach on health and safety.

"Our concern here is health and safety," he said. "We want to make sure that the community can travel along our sidewalks safely with nobody getting hurt."