Winter Walking and Cycling

[Pheidippides]

I wonder, are cities actually in contravention of the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways for not clearing bike lanes of snow and ice?

For lanes where parking not designated the standard is:
(i) to provide a minimum lane width of the lesser of three metres for each lane or the actual lane width, or
 
e.g. University Ave = class 2 (AADT >=15,000, @ 50kph, no parking allowed) need to clear 5cm within 6 hours
e.g. Park St = class 3 (AADT >=10,000, @ 50kph, no parking allowed) need to clear 8cm within 12 hours

This standard doesn't apply to the portion of the roadway designated for parking and in the standard the “roadway” has the same meaning as in subsection 1 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act which is:
“roadway” means the part of the highway that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, but does not include the shoulder, and, where a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term “roadway” refers to any one roadway separately and not to all of the roadways collectively; (“chaussée”)

Based on that definition aren't bike lanes just another lane of the "roadway" and therefore should be cleared and not used for snow storage as I think Dan was told by the City of Waterloo recently?


Also, if the cities won't amend their policies to include sidewalk clearing perhaps there is a way to get sidewalk standards added to this maintenance standard, to force them to do something. The current law has an automatic five year review and was last looked at in January 2013. It could make an interesting local election issue:

January 25, 2013 – (e-Laws currency date)
17. (1) The Minister of Transportation shall conduct a review of this Regulation and Ontario Regulation 612/06 (Minimum Maintenance Standards for Highways in the City of Toronto) made under the City of Toronto Act, 2006 every five years.  O. Reg. 613/06, s. 2