Snow Clearing and Pathway Maintenance
Once a winter weather event has passed, should you become aware of an issue on the city-maintained transportation network, submit a service request by calling 3-1-1 or online here.
Many residents have reached out with concerns regarding pathway closures in the ward, most especially changes to the network of maintained paths in Manotick. I wanted to provide an update regarding how these issues are managed.
How does the City manage paths in the winter?
Roads and pathways in the City in the winter are managed based on the City’s Winter Maintenance Quality Standards policy. This policy meets and exceeds the standards set by the Province. The City maintains 12,969kms of roads, which is more than the driving distance from Halifax to Vancouver and back again during each storm, along with 2,550kms of sidewalks and paths. These roads and paths are often maintained multiple times during a storm.
Within the ward, there are 33.35km of pathways and about 1500km of roadways that the City maintains.
There is 24/7 maintenance on those sidewalks and paths that are part of the maintenance schedule. They are maintained by sidewalk plows, as this is the only way to effectively, consistently, and safely remove ice and snow. Even though sidewalk plows are far more efficient than most other options, roughly half of Ottawa’s winter road maintenance resources are dedicated to maintaining sidewalks and pathways.
Why are some paths not maintained?
There are plenty of City-owned paths throughout Ottawa that are not maintained due to the material used, the slope of the path, curves in the path, path width, environmental concerns, and more. Paths that cannot be safely and consistently maintained by sidewalk plows, including many paths that are important parts of the pedestrian network, are not added to the winter road maintenance schedule.
This is because the sidewalk plows cannot safely navigate these surfaces. Therefore, the maintenance of the pathway is contingent upon its design and materials. Unless the path in question is relatively straight, flat, and even, it is unlikely that it will be part of the winter maintenance schedule.
This is a standard that exists throughout Ottawa. If the City were to clear all these paths in a fair and equitable manner, it would result in a significant cost to taxpayers as it would require hand-clearing of snow and ice. Such an approach would also introduce an extremely high amount of liability for the City and residents.
Already, roughly 50% of winter resources are dedicated to sidewalks and pathways. Introducing hand-clearing would significantly increase the demand for workers and equipment, which would create significant new costs or significant service cuts elsewhere that residents would find quite unacceptable.
Taken together, to ensure the safety of winter road maintenance workers and residents, and to be responsible to taxpayers, the City cannot commit to managing pathways that it cannot consistently and safely maintain with sidewalk plows.
Why have there been changes to the network of paths being maintained in the ward?
City staff regularly re-assess the winter road maintenance schedule for sidewalks and paths. They determine whether a path can be maintained based on the criteria outlined above and they also consider the history of operational safety in a given area.
Last year, a considerable number of sidewalk plows tipped or rolled over when operating on paths and sidewalks in some communities, including in Manotick. For example, last winter on Century Road, the slope of the sidewalk resulted in 2 sidewalk plows tipping over. Another plow rolled over near Bridgeport navigating a path. Though the operators were not hurt, the plows were damaged, which introduced significant costs and reduced the speed at which all other pathways in the area were cleared.
As a result, staff have indicated that they cannot safely maintain certain paths in the ward.
What is the Councillor doing to address this?
Since coming into office, I have been working to increase the number of municipally-maintained paths in the Ward. In some cases, I have been successful in persuading staff, though there are still paths that cannot be safely maintained. The only paths that are not being maintained are ones that staff have identified as presenting safety issues.
Ultimately, because the policy for winter road maintenance is set City-wide, I do not have the authority to unilaterally direct staff to maintain a path, and my Council colleagues would not support a direction that would compromise safety for operators or residents.
Even so, as the design of a path is ultimately what is responsible for whether it can or cannot be maintained, I am working with staff and developers to ensure that, at the development application stage, the design of paths is considered with an eye toward ensuring that the City’s Winter Maintenance Quality Standards policy can apply.
I know that residents are frustrated that certain paths cannot be maintained in the winter. I am similarly frustrated that developments have been approved without consideration for winter pathway maintenance. I will continue to do what I can to improve how the City manages this issue moving forward, starting at the design stage.
To report issues with winter road and pathway maintenance, please call 3-1-1 or click here. As always, my office can be reached at ward21@ottawa.ca.