Damage to lawns by plow operators is sky-high this year. Why the record number of complaints?

Thestar.ca
April 28, 2023

If the grass in front of your house was peeled up by a sidewalk snow plow, get on the blower right away to 311 if you want it fixed.

Judging by the large number of complaints I’ve gotten recently, people are extremely aggravated by the sheer amount of gouged and torn grass this past winter, an inevitable side effect of sidewalk plowing.

That’s an anecdotal conclusion, but numbers from Toronto transportation services show that sidewalk plow damage complaints were sky-high this past winter.

If you thought there was more damage to lawns and boulevards this winter than ever before, your eyes did not deceive you.

Between January and April of this year (there were no specific dates in the numbers provided), the city received 3,667 complaints. When added to the 496 lodged in November and December of 2022, it totals a whopping 4,163 complaints for the past winter.

To put it in perspective, complaints about plow damage between November of 2021 and April of 2022 added up to 1,573. Between November of 2020 and April of 2021, the total was 1,013.

So what’s behind the huge increase? A note from the city says “this winter season was the first year of new multi-year winter maintenance contracts. It is common that during the first year of a multi-year winter maintenance contract there are a higher number of service requests, as the contractor gets familiar with neighbourhoods and refines their operations.

“Frequent warm and rainy weather is also a contributing factor in the volume and severity of sod damage this winter. It prevents the ground from freezing and saturates it with water, making sod very susceptible to damage.

“Snow melt between snowfalls also left operators without windrows that they could use as guidelines for the sidewalk edges. Sidewalk plow operators are often clearing snow-covered sidewalks during evening hours with low visibility, which can make it challenging to see the sidewalk edges and stay on course.

“City staff will work with the new contractors to discuss measures they can take to reduce damage to sod in the future, particularly when sidewalk plows need to deviate from the sidewalk to avoid encroachments such as hedges, fences, driveway border curbs, etc.”

Now that the city is plowing not just suburban sidewalks, as was the case for decades, but just about every sidewalk possible, an increase in complaints was sure to follow.

But efforts are now underway to repair the damage. I spotted a contractor crew on my Scarborough Bluffs street last week, spreading topsoil on a damaged area near my house and sprinkling it with grass seed.

Now, expecting grass seed along the edges of sidewalks to take root and grow may be overly optimistic -- sod would be better, though even it requires ongoing watering and care from residents -- but it’s better than nothing.

I asked the city how it determines what gets fixed and got the following reply: “City staff proactively patrol for sod damage, as well as respond to 311 service requests.”

That may be true, but the patrolling part seems sketchy. I walk for an hour a day in my neighbourhood and have noticed that some spots were repaired, while similar damage nearby was untouched.

So it seems like the best way to make sure the city tends to damage is to report it to 311. The city advises that it will “investigate and take necessary action depending on the results of the investigation.”