Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Town of Kindersley has a snow removal bylaw and property owners are encouraged to educate themselves on the rules for removing snow in the community.
People living in residential districts have 48 hours after a snow event to remove snow and ice from sidewalks and walkways adjacent to their properties. In commercial districts, local businesses have 24 hours to remove snow and ice from walkways adjacent to the properties.
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The town’s bylaw enforcement officer, Melissa Torrens, provided important information for property owners regarding the rules for snow removal. If people do not respect the rules, they could receive fines for contravening the bylaw.
Property owners could face a fine of $50 for the first violation of the snow removal bylaw, but the bylaw officer said it is likely people would be warned before they are fined. If the violations persist, the fines are $100 for the second offence and $250 for third and subsequent offences.
A person could also be fined for piling snow in the wrong places or not cleaning up piles of snow in a set amount of time. In residential districts, no piles of snow could be more than one meter in height within 7.5 metres of a roadway to avoid blocking the sight lines for motorists and pedestrians.
In commercial and industrial districts, no piles of snow should exceed two meters in length or height on a property for longer than 48 hours. It allows the snow removal contractors to clear snow, and then return later with other equipment to remove piles.
The town has a designated area for snow removal. Property owners and snow removal contractors are able to dump snow at the designated area beside the town’s former landfill, so people are free to dump snow there at any time.
People will also face penalties if they pile their snow on an adjacent property, so people in all districts have to pile snow on their own properties or remove snow right away. In the case of adjacent properties, residents are asked to be neighbourly about snow removal.
According to the bylaw officer, snow removal is important for the safety of pedestrians and other people. In the past, it was recognized that clear walkways and driveways are important in emergencies to allow safe access to first responders.
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