Major Changes Coming to Snow Clearing in Mississauga

 

It might be over 30 degrees outside right now, but winter will eventually rear its ugly head in Mississauga and, this year, the city is planning to spend more on snow clearing. 

This past winter, residents took to Twitter on several occasions to voice concerns about icy, snowy sidewalks that were hazardous and difficult to traverse. In some cases, residents said the areas remained uncleared days after a snowstorm.

Fortunately for residents who are concerned about snow clearing, the city is planning to give its current snow clearing program a substantial $3.1 million injection. 

The boost was approved at a July 3 city council meeting.  

At the meeting, council approved an increase in winter maintenance service levels for pedestrian accessibility at bus stops and on priority sidewalks.

The substantial increase will be funded from the winter maintenance reserve with a net budget impact of $0 for 2019 and 2020.

Should the city continue to pay more for snow clearing beyond 2020, residents could see a slight uptick in taxes. In fact, a recent budget committee report revealed that the annualized impact of the upcoming service level change would trigger an increase of 0.4% on the annual budget—or require residents to pay an additional $7.40 on a property assessed at $645,000.

While there was debate about the financial implications, some councillors said that improving winter maintenance service is important—especially in a city that's trying to encourage residents to use their vehicles less.

At the meeting, Councillor Pat Saito said that bus stop access is crucial and that she once saw a woman climbing a substantial snowbank on Hwy 10 in order to get to a clear spot near a bus stop. 

“This is not a frill, we should have been doing it all along,” she said. 

There are no plans to change bike line snow clearance procedures at this time. 

The new snow clearing changes will go into effect in November.