The City of Yorkton is doing an overhaul of its traffic bylaw. Given that a large number of amendments needed to be made to bring the bylaw up to date, the decision has been made to write an entirely new bylaw to deal with traffic in the city.
The biggest change in the bylaw will involve how the city handles snow routes. Currently, there is a ban on parking between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on certain streets. This will be completely replaced with a ban on parking on snow routes when a snow route is declared.
There will be two routes, one red and one blue. On a red route, parking is banned completely for 72 hours after being declared. On the blue one, which encompasses the downtown area, parking will be banned between 12:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. for 72 hours. New signage will be required to inform people of where the snow routes are, and administration will have to give plenty of warning before the parking ban – Public Works is aiming for a minimum of five hours. The message will be put on the City website, social media, phone line message, and they are considering using radio until the public is comfortable with the change. The onus will be on citizens to know when a snow route is in effect.
A ticket of $50 will be issued to drivers who park in a snow route area and, if necessary, the vehicle will be towed.
Also related to snow removal, properties in the downtown area will now be required to remove snow on their sidewalks. If the city has to do it for them, the bill will be added to their property taxes.
Other big changes to the bylaw involve fines. The definition of litter in the new bylaw now “means any manufactured article, processed material or any waste and for the purpose of this Bylaw shall include any grass clippings, leaves or tree branches.” More importantly, the fine for littering will increase from $55 to $250.
There will also be a clause inserted for recourse against people who cause property damage by making waves during a flood event. If one is caught doing this, they will face a fine of $250. Mayor Bob Maloney was enthusiastic about the new provision, since he has heard many people complain about the damage caused by people driving through standing water.
“People need to realize a flood event is not an opportunity for joyriding,” said Maloney.
One thing that hasn’t been changed in the bylaw is the location of parking meters in the city’s downtown. Councillor Ken Chyz wants to see changes to where the meters are located, specifically asking if they are necessary on 2nd Ave now that there is no post office on the street. Councillor Aaron Kienle agreed that discussion of parking meter placement needs to take place.
The bylaw passed first reading, but since the bylaw will affect everyone in the city they want public input into the changes being made.
A draft of the bylaw can be found at www.yorkton.ca, and public notice considerations will be heard at the next regular council meeting on December 12.
