BANFF – The Town of Banff looks set to plow ahead with increased fines for residents who fail to remove snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to their property within the 24-hour timeframe.
Banff’s governance and finance committee is recommending the fine jump from $100 to $200 for a first offence and a $400 fine for a second and subsequent offences in the same calendar year.
“We want to make sure these sidewalks are safe for everyone to try to get where they’re going and we’re taking it seriously and we want people to do their part,” said Mayor Corrie DiManno.
“We certainly are going to go out to educate, but if that fails, then we are ready to increase the fines associated with not getting this done.”
The Town of Banff’s streets and public place use bylaw currently requires snow and ice to be removed from any sidewalk within 24 hours of a snowfall.
The Town undertook comprehensive research on what other communities across Canada do regarding bylaw requirements for snow removal and fine amounts.
Stan Andronyk, Banff’s manager of municipal enforcement, said most of the communities surveyed allow 24 hours for snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks.
He said the proposed increase to a $200 fine for a first offence and an increase for a second offence would be higher than most.
“Our neighbours in Canmore, they provide a timeframe of 48 hours after snowfall and the fine is $250,” he said.
According to Andronyk, Banff is one of the only communities that allows snow and ice to be pushed from the public sidewalk onto the roadway.
“This removes a barrier for people who may be discouraged from clearing their sidewalks because there is no place to conveniently deposit snow,” he said.
Banff’s municipal enforcement department has taken a comprehensive approach to sidewalk snow removal enforcement over the past few years, with the goal of gaining timely compliance to increase accessibility and safety.
Andronyk said door hangers were implemented in late 2022 and were successful in notifying people of their obligations to clear snow and ice, along with the potential implications of non-compliance.
“The door hangers are a much more timely response than the previous method of delivering compliance notices – through mail or email – and many sidewalks were cleared when officers checked back within 24 hours,” he said.
Snow Angel Program
The Town of Banff currently supports a Snow Angel program, which pairs volunteers with people 65 years of age or older, or those with disabilities, who need help clearing their residential driveways and sidewalks in winter – and it has been challenging to recruit volunteers.
Alison Gerrits, the director of community services, said the Snow Angel program has seen anywhere between two and five residents request the service since 2019, and approximately two to three volunteers a year interested in becoming a snow angel.
“The notion of an incentive is most definitely something that potentially could be appealing to folks,” she said.
“It could be as minimal as just being able to issue coffee cards or financial honorariums. It would be something we certainly could experiment with in the upcoming winter season.”
The governance and finance committee has recommended that council provide financial support to the Snow Angel program as an added incentive to potential participants.
“It’s great that folks are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, and I want to thank them for that work,” said DiManno.
“If we were able to add a financial honorarium it maybe would help attract other people to do it and at the very least we can give a small thank you to those who are already subscribed to helping others.”
