Bylaw officers across Metro Vancouver are going after snow clearing violators

If you haven't cleared snow from your sidewalk yet, expect a visit from a bylaw officer

METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Have you cleared your sidewalk yet? If not, you might want to make sure you do before a bylaw officer pays you a visit.

As we wait for more snow to blanket the Lower Mainland Thursday evening, bylaw officers in the region have started seeking out home and business owners who haven’t cleared their paths and sidewalks.

If you haven't cleared snow from your sidewalk, expect visit from bylaw officer. #Vancouver has 10 enforcement crews out, #Burnaby's had 70 complaints, #Surrey's issued 62 notices and 2 violation tickets, #Richmond's had 100+ violators and #WestVancouver has 8 complaints so far. — Marcella Bernardo (@Bernardo1130) February 14, 2019

In Vancouver, the city’s director of streets and engineering Taryn Scollard says they’ve sent out ten crews to do bylaw enforcement. She says they’re focusing on priority one routes and 311 call response.

“It will be a combination of fines and warnings depending on how bad the situation is, as well as whether or not someone has been fined or warned in the past,” Scollard says.

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Ted Townsend with the City of Richmond says bylaw officers have been quick to respond to complaints about more than 100 violators.

“Our focus is on bringing people into voluntary compliance once we educate and make people aware of what the bylaw requirements are and also educate them about opportunities for assistance such as our Snow Angels program,” Townsend adds. “Most people generally fall into compliance.”

He says no tickets have been issued thanks to violators jumping into action after a visit from officers.

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Meanwhile, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley says the city has received about 70 complaints.

“We have dealt with any complaints we’ve had through talking to the people and they immediately complied,” Hurley adds, noting no tickets have been issued so far.

In New Westminster, Aaron Hilgerdenaar says they’ve received 47 complaints but have issued an additional 65 “pro-active” notices for a total of 112.

“We’re targetting commercial and multi-family buildings to ensure the navigability of sidewalks for all of our residents,” he says. “At this point “we have not issued any tickets because we’ve received voluntary compliance.”

He says the city has five enforcement officers out and about.

Depending on where you live, fines could top $100.