The snow came yesterday and it came in a heap. Roads, sidewalks, and driveways throughout Airdrie have been covered in a blanket of white that needs to be removed.

In Airdrie, homeowners are responsible for clearing the snow off sidewalks around their home within 24 hours of the snow stopping. They are instructed to remove the snow for safety concerns and to not pile it onto the roads as it then becomes an issue for passing vehicles.

Maury Karch, Coordinator for Municipal Enforcement, said that snow becomes an issue when not handled properly.

"We get a fair amount of those complaints when we get the big dumps, that they will clear snow onto the roadway. That includes making snow piles on the roadway."

Clearing the snow onto the road becomes a city problem and something the city is unable to attend to.

"The city doesn't have the budget to clean all the roadways throughout the city (every day). They do it sparingly through the city as snow events happen," said Karch.

"We get this quite a lot where people think the city can just clear it. It basically comes to taxes. The city could do it, but the taxes would be unbelievably high."

He said that parking can also become an issue when large piles of snow line the neighborhood streets.

The bylaw in place instructing sidewalk clearing is, at its core, in place due to safety concerns.

"If it freezes, people end up falling. Then, you as a homeowner are responsible," said Karch.

"It's still going to happen, unfortunately. But if you've made the effort to clean your sidewalk, then the possibility of being sued because someone falls and hits their head diminishes."

Municipal enforcement will look into all complaints but likes to give homeowners a good chance to remove the snow. For example, homeowners are expected to clear the snowfall from yesterday by tomorrow. If not, the owners risk getting a blue door hanger.

The blue door hanger informs the homeowner that Municipal Enforcement has made an appearance and noticed the snow. It reminds the owner to remove the snow within 24 hours and references the bylaw.

"If that doesn't happen, we have someone under contract who will come and remove it and the bill gets charged back to your tax role."

The first offense is a simple $50, then $100, then finally $150. After that, Karch assumes a mandatory court appearance occurs but said that they have never visited the same house three times within one year to find out.

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