St. Catharines could crack down with potential boulevard bylaw

If the Blizzard of January 2022 taught St. Catharines anything, it’s that perhaps it hasn’t been strict enough with their streetscapes and boulevards.

While residents were ringing the City Hall and councillors’ phones off the hook to complain about unplowed roads – often times, inaccessible to plows due to street parked cars – it turns out that perhaps some citizens should be looking at their own properties and making sure they aren’t impeding snow clearing or other city work efforts.

To that end, city staff will be bringing forward a comprehensive “boulevard bylaw” to Monday’s (March 28) for City Council to look through and decide if firmer actions are warranted.

That is not to say the public won’t be offered a chance to give their own input. The report, brought forward by the Public Works department, also includes a scheduled April 11 Open House for residents.

Part of this is liability on the city’s end. If injuries or mishaps take place on city property, the city could be legally liable. (As an example, city staff had to dismantle a skate park created by citizens last summer because it was built with no permission on city property. If any injury had occurred there, the city would have been liable.)

The report addressed both that and a secondary issue, noting, “To date, unauthorized works have taken place on both boulevards and unopened road allowances across the city. At best, these incumbrances can be problematic from a liability perspective, while others can compromise public safety.”

However – and this is the reason this report was being drafted long before the blizzard – staff hears first-hand about the issues from the folks next door. “These unauthorized installations are also frequently a catalyst for neighbour disputes.”

The report gave the most common examples. “Landscape bricks located too close to a sidewalk edge will often be clipped by a sidewalk blower or plow. The best case (scenario) is minor to severe damage occurs to City equipment and a trip hazard results from the heaved brick. The worse case (scenario) is a dislodged brick can become a projectile and injure the worker, passing pedestrian or motorist.”

Trees and bushes were a similar problem. “Another common issue is vegetation that is planted in the boulevard that is not trimmed and obstructs sightlines.”

While those were the two most common, the report added, “Numerous other examples of boulevard hazards could be cited.”

However, the report was careful not to throw everything on the collective backs of residents, noting that its own rules were vague. However, if implemented, the new bylaws should see infractions removed by the city at the cost to the resident.

“To date, the City has not regulated alterations on boulevards nor unopened road allowances in a comprehensive manner,” the report said. “Rather, the City has allowed certain things to be installed in boulevards (i.e. signs, driveways) by exception or with stipulations where provided for by other statutes (i.e. hydro and gas utilities).”

It added, “Unopened road allowances have been altered by the construction of built elements by proponents in a number of locations in the municipality without any permissions or requirements being sought from the City.”

That said, the new comprehensive “boulevard bylaw” would look to fix “the City’s inconsistent approach to managing these public lands (which) can be frustrating for individuals and companies that seek to do things in a responsible and safe fashion.”

In terms of boulevards, the new bylaw includes the following key provisions:

• Landscaping and built elements within the boulevard must be limited to one meters in height. This will provide better sightlines for local car and cycle traffic.
• A sodded boulevard cannot be replaced with hard surfaces and/or artificial turf. This will limit the cost of restoration and claims for damages in the case of utility installations and repairs. This does not preclude natural ground cover that meets the other requirements of the bylaw.
• Landscape features or built elements, must be set back at least 1.5 metres from the sidewalk or where no sidewalk exists, three metres from the shoulder.

While it is just being presented to council on Monday, there is still the April Open House for residents to discuss the new restricted allowances.