Regina man with disabilities frustrated with bylaw after hit with snow clearing bill

Alan Bodnarchuk is voicing his frustration with the city’s snow removal bylaw after he was charged a bill of over $420 for city contractors to clear a walkway.

Bodnarchuk lives with multiple physical disabilities along 13th Avenue where snow from the road is often pushed onto the sidewalk.

Because of this, he employed the volunteer services of the Cathedral Snow Angels to clear his sidewalk.

“They did a fantastic job,” he said. “They’ve kept up with an enormous snow load.”

However, to his surprise, city bylaw enforcement showed up on his doorstep last month with a notice to clear his sidewalk or face penalties.

“They said, ‘Do it or get assessed a fine or surcharges for the contractors,” said Bodnarchuk.

City contractors did clear the sidewalk. However, the snow was pushed from the path back onto the road, making Bodnarchuk’s truck on the street nearly impossible for him to access.

He was charged $424.

“They didn’t actually remove the snow,” he said. “They didn’t even get down to the sidewalk.”

Bodnarchuk uses his truck to drive himself to doctor appointments. He said it took his brother and a friend nearly six hours to clear the snow from in front of his truck so he could leave.

Following executive committee Wednesday, Mayor Sandra Masters said the new bylaw has seen its share of hiccups this season.

“When it’s seniors or individuals who are physically limited, perhaps solutions can be found around that,” she said. “Internally, being understanding and reflecting that in the policy is probably something that needs to be implemented on a go forward basis.”

Bodnarchuk still did his part to make the path safe, laying down sand, but he wanted to see more consistency.

“If you look around, not everyone has their sidewalk clear,” he said.