By February the question isn’t how to move the snow. It’s where to put it. The banks along the driveway are shoulder high, the easy spots are full, and the street looks very tempting.
Here’s what Kitchener and Waterloo actually say about where snow can go, what you’re asked to keep clear, and how to pile it so the melt doesn’t come back across your driveway as ice.
Not on the road
This is the one with a rule behind it.
Waterloo’s Snow and Ice Removal Bylaw says: “No person shall place, or cause to be placed, any snow or ice on a highway.” The bylaw’s definition of highway includes the street. The city’s plain version, on its plowing page: “pile snow from sidewalks on your property, not on the road.”
Kitchener’s list of what to do when it snows, on its snow removal questions page, includes: “don’t push snow back onto the road.”
There’s a practical reason too. Snow in the street is in the plow’s path, and the plow puts it somewhere. Usually that’s back across the end of a driveway, yours or your neighbour’s, as a windrow.
Not on the sidewalk either
Both cities give owners 24 hours after a snowfall to clear the sidewalk beside their property, so a pile on the sidewalk is a pile you have to move again. Kitchener’s standard is bare pavement. Waterloo’s fines start at $100 plus cleanup costs. Our posts on Kitchener’s 24-hour rule and Waterloo’s snow rules have the details.
Corner lots get the worst of it. Kitchener’s snow removal page notes that at corner lots, snow from the road is sometimes moved onto the sidewalk after a plow, and asks owners to clear it.
Keep these clear
Kitchener’s snow removal questions page asks residents to “clear your fire hydrant or gas meter if it’s buried.” On the hydrant, its words are simple: “If the fire hydrant near your home is buried by snow, please dig it out.”
- The hydrant. If one sits on your frontage, keep a path to it and keep it visible. Don’t build your pile on top of it.
- The gas meter. Clear it by hand if it’s buried. A shovel blade and a meter don’t mix.
- The community mailbox. If it’s blocked by snow, Kitchener’s page says to call Canada Post at 1-800-267-1177.
Where the snow can go
On your own property. Within that, some spots are much better than others. This part is our advice from clearing driveways, not a bylaw.
- Downhill of the driveway. Melt runs downhill. A pile on the high side of the driveway drains across it every sunny afternoon and freezes every night.
- Away from the house. Not against the foundation, over window wells or under downspouts. That water has to go somewhere in March.
- Not where you need to see. A tall bank at the end of the driveway hides kids on the sidewalk and cars on the street when you back out. Keep the last few feet low.
- Not the same patch of lawn all winter. Grass under a pile that sits until April often comes out matted and thin. Winter lawn damage covers why and what to do.
- Leave room for March. The first storms take the easy spots. Pick a second and third spot now, while you can still see the lawn. Get your driveway ready has the rest of the fall walk-around.
Salt the ice, not the pile
Salt doesn’t make the snow go anywhere. It only stops ice. The Region of Waterloo’s snow clearing tips put it plainly:
- “Do not use salt to melt snow.”
- “In many cases, a few tablespoons of salt for a one-metre square area is all you need.”
- “Colder than -10 C? Salt does not work. Switch to sand for traction.”
The Region also explains why it cares. On its salt management page: “Some of this salt soaks into the ground to mix with groundwater, the water we drink.” And “Environmentally friendly ice melters contain salt and are not water friendly.”
So shovel first, salt the icy patches only, and don’t salt a snowbank. Which salt to use where is in pet-safe, treated or rock salt.
How we handle it
When we clear, the snow stays on your property. It never goes into the street. Before the first visit, tell us where you’d like it piled and anything to avoid, like a garden bed or a low wall. On a corner lot, the side-street sidewalk is an add-on, priced per started 10 m on our winter plans page.
Every visit covers the driveway, the front path, the city sidewalk in front of your home and the windrow, after every snowfall of 5 cm or more.
Questions about snow piles
Can my contractor push the snow across the street?
Not in Waterloo, where the bylaw bars placing snow on the street, and Kitchener asks residents not to push snow onto the road. A contractor working for you is no exception. Ask where they put it before you sign.
The plow buried the hydrant in front of my house. Is that my job?
Kitchener asks residents to dig out a buried hydrant near their home. It’s a few minutes with a shovel, and it matters if there’s ever a fire on your street.
My piles are huge by March. What then?
Spread them out while you still can, use the spots you saved, and keep the end of the driveway low. When there’s no room left at all, call or text us and we’ll talk through it for your property.
Plan the piles now
What every visit includes is on the snow removal page, with city detail for Kitchener and Waterloo. Pick your driveway size on winter plans, or call or text 226-336-2077.
