A suggestion from city staff to the mayor and council calls for the city to off-load some snow clearing responsibility onto residents.
Winnipeg is one of the few cities in North America where people are not required to shovel the city sidewalk after a snowfall.
On Wednesday at City Hall, the mayor was less than enthusiastic about the idea.
"That's not something that's before council,” said Brian Bowman. “It's not something that's moving through the channels other than a recommendation in a report that could be considered at some point in time."
Considering the cost-savings and the potential to make the city more pedestrian friendly some have called for that to change.
The Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies Report is where the recommendation appears and staff say public feedback shows uncleared sidewalks deter people from walking in the winter.
"It's frustrating. It's dangerous. It turns into ice,” said Ashley Gallant who says she already shovels the sidewalk. “We all know how bad Winnipeg gets with the ice. We all know how our streets are. If you can do your part, that would be great."
Among other cities, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Fargo and Minneapolis require residents to clear the sidewalks.
The city does it in Charlottetown, Halifax and Ottawa.
“I’m from Toronto and we have to do it there,” said Michelle Thould. “I don’t think it’s that bad.”
If the suggestion becomes a reality, it will not impact everyone equally.
Some people don’t have sidewalks in front of their homes and some only have a small frontage, while those living on corners could be required to shovel two sidewalks.
"My frontage is on this side,” said Maura Kenny as she pointed to the narrow side of her home. “This is actually the side of my property which is the longest stretch. And that's the piece that's going to cost me the most."
The report recommends establishing a volunteer crew who could help elderly and disabled people after a snowfall and even outlines a system where people could notify the city when they’re on vacation to request temporary help.
Last year the city budgeted $800,000 to clear residential sidewalks and wound up spending $1.1 million.
