Snow Removal

Southern Ontario was hit with a rather large snowstorm last night.  We ended up with an additional 30 cm of of snow on top of what we already had with the prediction of an additional 10 cm today.  Our driveway could almost classify as a laneway as it is quite a bit longer than you would find in an urban setting since we are rural.  Knowing the snowstorm was going to hit my husband called a guy who has a plow to plow our driveway during and after the storm.  This morning I looked out to see our new neighbour and another neighbour shoveling their very long driveways.  Now this is no easy task at the best of times given their lengths.  My husband usually takes the easy approach of clearing in front of the garage then using the car to form ruts to the end of the driveway which allows us to easily get in and out without shoveling.  However, we usually end up having our driveway plowed at least once a season just to get things cleaned out nicely.

Snow removal is a concern anywhere there is accumulation of more than a dusting.  One of the main reasons for this is a slip and fall on your sidewalk can result in liability issues.  In urban areas many municipalities even go as far as to say the homeowner is responsible for snow removal on the sidewalk in front of their house even though it is not technically on their property but rather municipal owned.  Other municipalities have sidewalk snow removal as part of the property taxes.  Any sidewalk on private property should removed along with any ice to prevent slip and fall accidents.  It urban areas with door-to-door mail delivery, mail carriers can refuse to deliver the mail if the sidewalks haven't been cleared.  Driveways become another issue.  Unless the snow is deep driving in and out will form a good snow base that will melt away on warm days but this may cause ice spots.  I know of no bylaws that say homeowners must clear their driveways.  This is usually done for the homeowners convenience of parking and getting in/out of the garage.  Under the Highway Traffic Act is is unlawful and a finable offense to shovel or blow snow from your property onto any highway or street in Ontario.  Unfortunately municipal snow plows can and do shovel snow up across driveways as they go by so that needs to be cleaned out.  At any rate snow removal is something many of us have to face in the winter months.

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