Westside mulls fines for blocking snowplows

Clearing roadways in winter becoming more challenging, city council told

West Kelowna residents who don’t move their car off the street during heavy snowstorms could be fined $50 this winter.

The new fines, which could be issued every day the vehicle obstructs snow-clearing crews, were reviewed Tuesday by city council.

First-time offenders would likely get a written or verbal warning, but vehicles repeatedly left on the street could be towed away.

Unlike other municipalities, West Kelowna currently doesn’t have a bylaw that sets penalties for the owners of vehicles that obstruct snow-clearing efforts.

Many city-owned roads can be cleared efficiently and quickly during a snowstorm, staff say. But road-clearing challenges are becoming more frequent and widespread, they say.

“In many cases, on-street parking has prevented the contractor’s ability to provide even a basic level of winter maintenance as per the maintenance contractor,” staff write in a report to council.

“The experience has generally been that local roads, narrow hillside roads and cul-de-sacs seem to create the majority of the challenges for winter maintenance vehicles,” staff say.

In some places, crews can only clear a narrow path down the middle of the street.

“In other situations, they are unable to safely enter a roadway at all,” staff say.

“The hillside nature, and general trend toward narrower road widths, in many new developments in West Kelowna could further compound the on-street parking challenges faced by low equipment.”