Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law No. 2009-047 THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM BY-LAW NO. 2009-047 A BY-LAW TO ESTABLISH A POLICY FOR WINTER CONTROL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM WHEREAS Section 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 as amended provides that a lower tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting Highways, including parking and traffic on highways; AND WHEREAS the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Bayham deems is necessary and expedient to adopt a policy for winter control to ensure vehicular and pedestrian safety. NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS; 1. THAT the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Bayham hereby establishes a policy to be known as the "Policy for Winter Control" as set out in Schedule "A" attached hereto and forming part of this by-law. 2. THAT this By-law shall come into full force and effect on the date of its passage. READ A FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD TIME AND FINALLY PASSED THIS 2ND DAY OF APRIL,2009. .40 MA • CLERK Winter Control Policy-Municipality of Bayham Policy for Winter Control' Within the Municipality of Bayham Mission Statement The Municipality of Bayham will place the vehicular and pedestrian safety paramount in their efforts to fulfill their duties in regards to winter control. Purpose The Winter Control Policy will mirror that of the " Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways" as outlined in the Municipal Act Responsibility The responsibility of the Public Works Department is to provide snow clearing, and snow removal (in specified areas) for the Municipalities infrastructure of 300 kilometers of roadways. Snow and ice operations may be conducted on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week. The Public Works Department shall attempt to experiment with differing systems to constantly improve their service and shall keep the Municipality of Bayham abreast of any experiments, which are underway. Experiments shall be done in order to stay abreast of changes to the Salt Management Plan and shall also be done in selected areas where little or no accidents may occur. We at the Municipality of Bayham will use the information from other municipalities in order to ensure that we are minimizing the risk. On Street Parking Parking in the Municipality of Bayham is regulated by By-Law 2001-111 1) The Public Works Department has placed signs through out the municipality advising of the parking restrictions as well as placing reminder notices on vehicles which continue to park illegally on the roadways thereby interfering with the snow plowing operations. 3 tiVinter Control('oCicy 2) The Public Works Department will advise the By-Law Officer of any infractions where vehicles are constantly left on the roadway and thereby allowing the By-Law Officer to ticket the offender. Parking Lots Parking lots are presently privately plowed by contractors. By-Laws The Municipality of Bayham will rely heavily on the Highway Traffic Act as the basis of many of the By-Laws, which are to be adopted. Many municipalities have adopted their by-laws from the Highway Traffic Act. - Highway Traffic Act Section 181 --prohibits citizens from placing snow on the roadways or plowing snow across the roadways as this may result in accidents which the Municipality has little or no control unless this Section of the Highway Traffic Act is used Property Damage During the course of operations through any given winter, a certain amount of damage may occur to Municipal and private property. In the event that sod is damaged the Municipality may or may not reinstate the area and if reinstatement is to be done it will be done with topsoil and seed when it is generally practical (generally in April). If the homeowner has items encroaching on Municipal property the Municipality will advise, at their earliest convenience, that these items must have an encroachment agreement or have the item removed from the right of way. In the event the item is damaged the Municipality is not responsible for the reinstatement of the damaged item. If you have advised and the resident continues to leave the item on municipal property the citizen may be responsible for any repairs to municipal equipment or damage to persons due to the encroachment. Mail boxes shall conform to a Mail Box By-Law Number 2009-044 as may be amended. Wooden stakes may be used to mark property or other items but by no means will concrete pillars or a structure that will cause damage to motorists be allowed. 4 Winter Control Policy Driveway Entrance Clearing It can be expected that snow will be plowed into driveways as a normal part of roadway clearing operations. Owners of properties in which the driveway services will be responsible for removal of snow deposited in those entrance. These properties are not allowed to deposit snow onto the municipal roadways and may be charged for such actions. Assistance to Private Property Under no circumstances will a municipal employee be allowed to use a municipal piece of equipment to push, pull or tow a stranded private vehicle from a roadway or parking lot. The employee, if a hazard exists, shall use the two way radio to notify dispatch of the impending danger. The only times a municipal employee shall clean a private driveway if in the opinion of the foreman or manager more snow was placed in the driveway than in any other driveways and it is unfair to have this resident clear more than their fair share of snow. Roadway Servicing Treatment Guidelines As outlined in the Municipal Act the Municipality of Bayham shall clear roads in accordance to the Municipal Act. That is to say Class 1 shall be cleared within the specified time period as outlined by the Municipal Act and the remainder of the classifications of roadways shall be cleared down to Class 5 which shall be last to be cleared. Class 5 roadways are generally subdivision roadways or roadways with little traffic. Snow Removal Operations Snow removal shall be done in Port Burwell, Vienna and Straffordville when the banks of the snow become a visibility obstruction for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Snow removal shall not be done for favors. Departure from Procedure The Municipality of Bayham recognizes that conditions may be so unusual or unexpected that a departure from the general procedures should be authorized. Therefore when conditions warrant the Public Works Department to do so the Chief Administrative Officer or Manager of Public Works may order a departure from the general rules. 5 Winter Control-Porky No Duty or Right Created The purpose of this Procedure is to establish goals for The Municipality of Bayham employees regarding snow and ice control. It is not to be construed to create any duty to any individual, person or entity. This Procedure does not provide any special protection or service to any particular individual or group. No additional rights shall be granted to any individual or entity simply by adoption and enforcement of this Procedure. This procedure may be in effect in total or part, as a result of acts of God, strikes, equipment breakdowns, weather conditions, inadequacy of equipment, provincial or federal regulations, shortage of personnel, and any other unforeseen, uncontrolled or anticipated act. Sidewalk Presently sidewalk clearing is done under contract. 6 Questions/Cgenera(Rsponse 1) I live on Smith St (subdivision street) and I need to get out now. When can I expect the plows to clean my road? A) We can sympathize with your situation Madam/Sir but under the Municipal Act the municipality is obligated to clear the streets with the highest speed limits and most traffic before they start on subdivision streets. The crews will be there at their earliest convenience. 2) Well I want out now and I don't really care about Municipal Act. A) We would clear the street but I ask you to think about something in the event there were an accident on a Class 1 road and the attorneys found out we were clearing a Class 5 road before a Class 1 road we would loose our court case. 3) Why do you not have all the men come out a one time and plow all the streets then everything would be done. A) Under Ministry of Labor laws a person is allowed to drive for only thirteen (13) hours then they must have at least eight (8) hours of rest. Also under the regulations a driver may not exceed 70 hours of work in a week so this becomes a logistic concern to get everyone working and not going over the allotted time frame. 4) I have plowed snow across the roads for years why now are they telling me that I can not do this. A) Under the Highway Traffic Act Section 181 no one is permitted to plow snow from their driveway or their personal property onto a roadway. The reason being if the municipality has cleaned the road and a motorist comes along the road and hits the snow left on the road an accident may occur 7