$98 sidewalk snow and windrow removal fee could be coming to Brampton

Brampton residents could get added sidewalk snow and windrow clearing services this winter at a cost to taxpayers as the city is looking to renew its contract with snow removal providers.

For the past year, Brampton City Council has been considering possible expansions of the snow removal program that would see crews clear residential sidewalks and the small snow piles left at the end of a driveway by passing plows, known as windrows.

Thousands of Brampton residents tuned in to a virtual town hall in February to give their thoughts on the current state of snow removal in the city, with staff saying at the time that the additional services would cost $128 per household every year for windrow removal while adding expanded sidewalk clearing services would cost an average $31 annually for a total of $159 annually.

Now the city says those costs have come down, and adding more snow removal for the upcoming season would cost $98 per household in property taxes every year.

Sidewalk clearing would cost the city some $2.6 million annually for an average of $12 per year in property taxes per household while it would cost about $19.6 million, or $86 per year, to clear windrows from driveways, updated numbers from the city show.

The city is asking Brampton residents for more feedback on the possible service and tax increases with an online survey.

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The simple questionnaire asks whether residents support adding more services knowing it would mean an additional $22.2 million cost to the city.

“The outcome will increase taxes for all households, but not all households (such as apartment buildings, businesses, and driveways on arterial roads) will receive the service,” the city says of the proposed services.

Some 61 per cent of the attendees at February’s town hall said they were happy with the city’s current level of service with 39 per cent saying they’re dissatisfied.

You can give feedback on the proposed Brampton snow removal changes by visiting www.letsconnect.brampton.ca/snow-removal.