Guelph mayor asks if adding windrow service is worth it

After multiple major snowstorms, Mayor Cam Guthrie is asking residents if they’d pay more for a plow that could keep snow off driveways?

The mayor of Guelph is exploring the idea of getting the city to clear the pile of snow left at the end of a driveway after a plow clears the road.

When it comes to winter road maintenance, the pile of snow left at the bottom of a driveway after a plow clears the road is called a windrow.

“It’s a pain, especially when we get all this heavy snow through the year. Last year was great. This year it’s murder,” Dominic Carere, a Guelph resident said.

Mayor Cam Guthrie posted an unofficial poll on social media, asking if residents would like their property taxes to increase for an additional winter storm service to clear the windrows on residential driveways.

“Often people will say, ‘hey Cam, you know, could we do this in Guelph?’ So, I thought it would be a good idea to post it to see what the engagement would be like. Also, to get some feedback on whether people would like it or not like it in the City of Guelph, it’s gone very well,” Guthrie said.

Many in Southern Ontario have complained on social media about the windrow’s leftover recently. A plow operator acknowledged the challenge in a video posted online by the City of Kitchener this week.

“You try to be sympathetic with people, people are shoveling their driveway, and they see the plow truck coming down and they’re waving their fists at you and throwing shovels. It’s unfortunate, but you got to put the snow somewhere,” the operator said in the video.

Cities like Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Toronto and Regina have programs to clear windrows. Some add special equipment to their plows or have a special vehicle following plows cleaning residential streets.

Guthrie said there would be an initial cost for equipment and an annual cost for taxpayers.

“Probably up front, it’d be about $1.5 to $2 million for the equipment, and then on an annual basis, about $800,000 for that service. So it could be about a $10 amount roughly each year, more than what people are paying on the average property taxes in Guelph,” Guthrie said. “About $10 a year per household across the city. Maybe it would save everyone’s back a little bit.”

Some are on board with the idea.

“Definitely beneficial after this amount of snow. The plow comes through and kind of blocks the driveway. So, yeah, I think I’m for it,” Samantha, a Guelph homeowner said.

Kitchener, Waterloo and Brantford all have windrow removing programs for eligible residents that can’t clear it on their own.

Kitchener’s Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said windrow clearing for all residents is something council has explored before, but there were not a lot of options to do it efficiently and effectively, without jeopardizing the time it takes to clear snow on the main roads. He added the city would look at any operational challenges and costs before ever considering any pilot program.

Guthrie said Guelph will have to look at costs, what equipment works best, the logistics of certain streets and the timing it takes to clear major roads before making any decisions.

“Those types of questions would all have to be fleshed out by our professional staff to come to the public and to council to maybe see if something like this could even work within the city of Guelph. And that’s a conversation that actually I don’t mind having. Probably for the 2026 budget,” Guthrie said.

“I think it’s worthwhile. Good idea, Cam,” Carere said.

According to the City of Brantford, 1,600 residents use its windrow removing service. Eligible residents must reapply each year to be added to the list. There is no waitlist and while residents are asked to sign up by December each year, the city still accepts applications throughout the winter. Windrow removal typically takes between 16 to 48 hours after a snowfall event, according to the city.