Look out City of Kitchener Property Owners – Shovel the Snow or Get Fined

November 13, 2018, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

The City of Kitchener has served warning to its residents that they want the sidewalks shoveled in a timely manner after snowfalls. Inconsistent snow clearing is a real problem for anyone trying to walk in the winter on sidewalks and the City is now ready to use a big stick to get you to shovel.

This winter due to non-compliance by many property owners, the city will issue a single warning to anyone who has not shoveled their driveway within 24 hours of snowfall. If a by-law officer sees sidewalks covered in snow or ice they’ll issue the single warning and if the sidewalk isn’t cleared then the City will return and shovel or plough it and charge the cost back of $400 to the landowner.

If a landowner fails to clear the sidewalk a second time in one season no warning will be issued.

This is  a marked change from the complaints based system that used to exist. It comes in response to the many landowners who do not clear sidewalks at all making them impassible for people in mobility devices like scooters or wheelchairs, and for those using a stroller, or the elderly.

Slip and fall accidents, particularly in the winter in Canada, account for a high percentage of admissions to emergency departments. They result in broken arms, wrists, hips and are a leading cause of concussion.

The City is also offering to connect a limited number of those who are incapable of shoveling with help and are piloting a ‘community snow blower’ program that would see the city subsidized the cost of a single snowblower to a group of neighbours. Funding for both programmes is limited.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.