Heaps of snow left at bottom of driveways by Toronto plows could be your problem next winter

Some Toronto councillors are voicing concern about the city’s plan to cancel windrow-clearing services as a cost-saving measure in its latest budget.

Windrows are the large dunes of snow left behind by plows when they clear residential roads.

The city currently clears them in some areas. But the 2024 staff-proposed budget suggest saving $16 million by eliminating that program, starting next winter.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie told CP24.com that she heard "loud and clear" at a town hall Monday night that people in her ward don't want to see the program eliminated, especially the roughly 20 per cent of residents in her ward who are seniors.

"They consider the windrow clearing an essential service provided to them and it ensures that they have accessibility throughout winter and they're able to age in place and live in their homes," McKelvie said.

The program currently serves around 260,000 households across North York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.

In a budget note, city staff say that the municipality has no "statutory obligation" to provide the service under provincial standards and that it is currently only provided in "select areas" of the city.  

"Overall, this proposal will have an equity neutral impact as it will ensure an equitable approach for services provided broadly by the City for all residents," staff say in the note.

However McKelvie points out that it's rarely the case that every resident of the city benefits equally from all programs.

"There are many services in our city that are not equitable across the city," she said. "A great example of that is higher order transit. In my home community of Scarborough Rouge Park, we have no higher order transit provided by the TTC. Our seniors, our community are reliant on their cars. And in many cases, even those that do take high order transit, for example the GO Train, they drive there. So they need the ability to get out with their car and get over to that transit station."

She said she knows there are "difficult decisions" to make in the budget, but that this one will unfairly impact seniors.

"We are seeing through this budget that there is a massive expansion in library service that is being provided, there is a very quick ramp-up again of service on our TTC," McKelvie said. "So the windrow clearing service is the only service that has been proposed as a cut through this budget and it's unfair that it's on the backs of seniors."

Coun. Stephen Holyday told CP24.com that he too has heard from residents who are upset about the proposal.

"I've heard from many residents who are angry about the proposed cut to snow clearing services in the face of a massive tax increase," Holyday said in an email. "This cut specifically targets the suburbs and disproportionately affects seniors, people with health conditions, and those who do not have the physical strength (to) heave piles of snow blocking them in left by the City. I hope it is overturned during the budget process and residents hold their Councillor accountable for their stance on it."

Speaking at an announcement about library services Thursday, Mayor Olivia Chow said the cut is not a done deal yet.

"The snow removal cut is hard. So we're listening very carefully whether that's a good thing or not to do that," Chow said. "Especially for seniors, it's difficult and it will impact a lot of people."

She said the $16 million cut is part of the $620 million in savings that staff are proposing through a line-by-line review across departments.

Even after those savings, city staff are proposing a 10.5 per cent tax bump for property owners – which would be the largest in post-amalgamation Toronto – as Toronto tries to plug a $1.8 billion budget deficit. Staff are also proposing an extra six per cent levy if the federal government does not provide $250 million to shelter refugees and asylum seekers.

McKelvie said she's heard from residents that they don't want to pay a 16.5 per cent tax increase to subsidize services such as shelters for asylum seekers, which is a federal responsibility.

"I think everybody is looking for some sort of cost control by the mayor when she presents her budget on February 1," McKelvie said. "She's going to have very hard decisions to make about how to make up that additional money if the federal government does not come to the table."

The budget Committee is set to wrap up its deliberations on Jan. 26, a few days before Chow presents the budget for Toronto City Council to consider.