Your turn: Winter walking, downtown policy, and County Chats
By
Stephanie Swensrude and 
This week's batch of calls for public engagement includes City of Edmonton surveys on improving the pedestrian experiences in winter and an updated downtown policy, as well as County Chats across Parkland County.
The City of Edmonton is conducting a survey to better understand how winter weather impacts people who are walking, cycling, rolling, or using transit. The survey is open until May 13 and will help administration improve safety, equity, and accessibility in winter travel, the city said.
While it's possible to safely navigate a vehicle through some snow, it can be anywhere from difficult to impossible for people with mobility aids to use sidewalks that are covered in snow, ice, puddles, and ruts. Disability advocate Zachary Weeks told Global News it is isolating and dehumanizing to not be able to leave the house for basic needs like medical appointments and groceries. City-maintained sidewalks, shared pathways, and other pedestrian infrastructure are meant to be cleared within three days of the end of snowfall. But private sidewalks are the responsibility of property owners. In the 2024-2025 winter season, the city received 12,400 complaints about snowy and icy sidewalks and gave out 1,400 tickets.
Edmonton's December snowfall was four times higher than usual, complicating snow removal efforts. By Jan. 25, the city had received 4,500 complaints about uncleared sidewalks and given out 640 tickets. The city received more than 30,000 complaints about snow removal in general, and it stopped accepting complaints for a period of time in mid-January.
Around that time, Mayor Andrew Knack and councillors Aaron Paquette and Jon Morgan were among those calling for changes to how snow clearing is funded and executed. Knack said even in an average snowfall year, snow clearing is not up to expectations, and it's likely the $67-million annual budget will need to be increased in the next budget cycle to reach those expectations. Paquette introduced a motion calling for the city to create an option for surge snow-clearing capacity during extreme weather events like the record snow of December. Morgan also introduced a motion directing administration to look for different or innovative snow and ice control tactics. The information asked for in both motions will be included in a review of the city's snow-clearing policy, which is set to be presented to council on Aug. 31.
It costs much more for city crews to clear snow from sidewalks and bike lanes than from roads. The City of Edmonton spends close to the same amount clearing snow from 11,000 linear kilometres of roads as it does clearing it from about 1,500 kilometres of active pathways and other pedestrian spaces. The city told Taproot this is because active transportation infrastructure requires more specialized equipment and is typically cleared to a different standard than roads.
Meanwhile, another city councillor is conducting his own survey, open until June 19, about snow and ice removal in residential neighbourhoods. Coun. Mike Elliot said in a blog post that he wants community input, given the challenging snow conditions that happened this winter. Elliott will also host a townhall on June 29. He wrote that the information will be used to inform his budget decisions later this year.
