Am I being critical of what's available to the public, sure. I hope the City Administration takes this as a critique that will provide clarification for the homeowners in Regina so they have clear and understandable direction when it comes to snow clearing. The City has a web page at www.regina.ca/transportation-roads-parking/seasonal-maintenance/snow-ice-control/sidewalk-snow-clearing/ titled Sidewalk Snow Clearing. The portions below hightlighted in green are from that page. The portions below highlighted in blue are from Bylaw 9881, Part 3, that is posted on the City's website. Yellow highlighted areas are my observations.

Sidewalk Snow Clearing

Winter is part of life in Regina. Let’s make winter walks accessible for everyone. Property owners are required to keep City sidewalks bordering their property free of snow and ice.

Many residents face accessibility challenges from injury, permanent disability, or through aging. Be a good neighbour and help make our sidewalks accessible in all seasons, whether on foot, using a mobility device or pushing a stroller.

Here is the basic information for property owners:
Property owners must clear sidewalks within 48 hours following a snow event. 
Properties located within 
Schedule B of the Clean Property Bylaw are required to clear sidewalks within 24 hours. This area is primarily located within the Downtown.

  • The end of a snow event is considered to be when the snow stops falling. This flies in contradiction of the bylaw which states: PART 3. SNOW REMOVAL 6. (1) Every owner of land adjoining a sidewalk shall clear the sidewalk of all snow and ice within forty-eight (48) hours of the time when the snow or ice was formed or deposited thereon.

  • Sidewalks must be kept free from snow and ice buildup. This is impossible and I could find no definition for “buildup”. Without definitions you've got nothing. Create an even, walkable surface by clearing the sidewalks to the edges I cannot clean to the edges as the City snowplow has piled snow on top of the edge where I live. and as close to the concrete as possible. Here it says “..as close to the concrete as possible.” The bylaw states:PART 3. SNOW REMOVAL 6. (1) Every owner of land adjoining a sidewalk shall clear the sidewalk of all snow and ice within forty-eight (48) hours of the time when the snow or ice was formed or deposited thereon. Read the end of that sentence in conjunction with the bylaw which states: within forty-eight (48) hours of the time when the snow or ice was formed or deposited thereon. Using the terms “formed or deposited” gives bylaw enforcement the ability to charge a homeowner once one snowflake falls. Not a good “discretionary” wording and I certainly hope not the intent of council. Again, this is contradictory to the statement The end of a snow event is considered to be when the snow stops falling.

Snow from sidewalks can be placed on your property or along the curb next to the sidewalk, ensuring it does not interfere with traffic. Do not shovel or blow snow into the road. I have a surveyor's certificate for my property which shows my property starts 7 feet/2.1336 meters back from the edge of the sidewalk. According to this, the Bylaw is telling me I cannot place snow on the public property between the edge of the sidewalk up to where my property starts.

  • Property owners that fail to clear their sidewalk in the allotted timeframe could receive a Notice of Non-Compliance.

  • If the property owner does not remedy the situation within the specified timeline, the City could take action to have the sidewalks cleared and the costs applied to their property taxes.

Advancing into Section 7 of the Bylaw, it goes on to state:
Depositing Snow
7.
(1) No person shall remove snow or ice from any public sidewalk by causing it to be placed upon any other portion of the sidewalk, public highway surfaces or parking lane except as noted within this section.
(2) No person shall remove snow or ice from any public sidewalk by causing it to be placed onto private property other than their own.
This negates hiring a company to remove snow if it's to be placed onto private property. This negates any volunteer from shovelling your sidewalk and putting the snow on your private property.
(3) Snow and ice removed from any public sidewalk may be placed in the area between the public sidewalk and the adjacent property line as space is available. Technically, anyone moving snow from any public sidewalk MUST know where the property is located, all the while when it's buried under snow placed there by the City.
(4) Snow and ice removed from any public sidewalk may be placed along the Curb face provided the snow and ice does not encroach onto the sidewalk nor extend more than 2.5 meters from the Curb face on to the public highway or parking lane. With snow plowed by the City graders up onto the edge of the sidewalk, generally the “Curb face”, just how would an individual determine where the “Curb face” is located when the grader has left a mountain of snow and ice on/over the "Curb face? Perhaps we're not all SAE/METRIC literate but 2.5 meters is 8.2 feet. Quite basically the width of a parking lane.
(5) No person shall place snow, ice, dirt or debris removed from private property onto public property, including any street, except at sites posted and approved by the City for public use. I have a surveyor's certificate for my property which shows my property starts 7 feet/2.1336 meters back from the edge of the sidewalk which is opposite to that of the “Curb face”. A concrete driveway, which I thought I owned, covers this “part” of the land. The land itself is not mine, it belongs to the City. Can I move snow from this portion of “the”driveway onto the City street in keeping with subsection 4 above?
(6) Snow and ice removed from public property shall not obstruct sightlines in violation of The Traffic Bylaw No. 9900 nor be placed more than 2.5 meters from the Curb face on to the public highway or parking lane.

 

 
 
Today, February 27, 2023, I had occasion to conduct business with the City of Regina at the Elphinstone Street Sportplex which includes the Fieldhouse, Lawson Aquatic Centre, and Tracks Cafe. I would suggest there are hundreds of people who use the east doors on a daily basis as suggested by the fact there are many vehicles in the parking lot.   Below is a photo of the sidewalk, taken on immediately when exiting the Sportsplex by the east doors. Sidewalks the City cares so much about keeping safe. To quote from the City website "Many residents face accessibility challenges from injury, permanent disability, or through aging." It's fine for the City to dictate to its citizens on how to conduct themselves but it does not follow its own advice. Shame on the administration.