Item - 2021.IE22.13

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, to expand the current mechanical sidewalk winter snow clearing service to the remaining approximately 1,300 kilometres of sidewalks currently not receiving this service, effective for the 2021 / 2022 winter season.

2. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with General Manager, Fleet Services, to purchase necessary winter maintenance equipment in the approved 2021 – 2023 Fleet Capital Budget to expand the mechanical sidewalk winter snow clearing service.

3. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, to transition the current Seniors or Persons with Disabilities Sidewalk Clearing Program beginning for the 2021 / 2022 winter season to the proposed expanded and enhanced mechanical sidewalk winter snow clearing service.

4. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, to include all necessary staff and budgets costs associated with the expansion for consideration in the 2022 Budget process.

5. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to explore using the new winter maintenance equipment used as part of the Sidewalk Winter Maintenance Trial, on other active transportation infrastructure to see if it meets operation requirements, specifically on multi-use pathways and on bike lanes currently without physical separation, that could be serviced with the new equipment.

Transportation Services concluded a trial to test the use of new smaller sidewalk snow plows with an enclosed cab that were only recently available in the marketplace. The goal of the trial is to determine whether sidewalk snow clearing could be expanded to include areas of the city that do not currently receive mechanical clearing as part of the City's current winter maintenance program. These areas have previously been excluded because the existing fleet of larger sidewalk plows is unable to safely clear narrow sidewalks with frequent physical obstructions.

The smaller snow plows were tested on nine routes covering 231 kilometres of sidewalks over two winter seasons to observe and document the performance of the machines in a range of snow conditions and street settings.

Based on the information gathered through the trial, Transportation Services has concluded that it is technically possible to expand snow clearing service to include the large majority of sidewalks in the city. The results of the trial and the recommendation to expand the program are presented in this report for City Council's consideration.