The Town of Newmarket is considering a Driveway Windrow Program for the upcoming winter season. Driveway windrow clearing consists of a specialized snow plow used to remove a portion of the snow accumulated at the end of the driveway created by plowing the road. To seek feedback on the direction of the program, the Town of Newmarket is inviting residents to complete a short survey with various options for residents to choose from. Feedback collected will be used to inform Mayor and Council on the direction of a potential future program. Complete the survey by June 6, 2025. Findings and recommendations will be presented to Council at the June 16 Committee of the Whole meeting.
“After the large amount of snow fall last season, we’ve been hearing that residents are interested in the Town expanding its snow clearing services to include removing the snow at the end of their driveway – the windrow left behind when street plows clear the roads,” says Mayor John Taylor. “As with all new services, there will be an impact to the budget and property taxes. Before we move ahead with a potential pilot program, we want to ensure we have enough data and buy-in from the community. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and provide your thoughts.”
The Town of Newmarket currently performs winter maintenance on local municipal owned roads and all sidewalks. This equates to 644 lane km of roads (both sides) and 364 km of sidewalks. Snow plowing begins once snow accumulation has reached
6 cm and it can take up to 16 hours to clear all streets in Newmarket, and even longer if snow continues to fall.
If the Town were to implement a pilot residential windrow program the following factors would need to be taken into consideration by residents:
- Windrow clearing would only apply to residential households with driveways facing municipal local roads (not Regional roads).
- Windrow clearing will take place after all primary and secondary roads are complete, which can take up to 24 hours after snow has stopped falling.
- Windrows caused by sidewalk plows will not be cleared.
- Due to the limited size and reach of windrow clearing equipment, they can only clear a portion of the driveway entrance – residual amounts of snow may be left behind.
Complete the survey by June 6, 2025, and tune into the June 16 Committee of the Whole meeting online or in person at the Municipal Offices (395 Mulock Drive). For more information email [email protected] or call 905-895-5193.
To learn more about the Town’s snow clearing procedures, visit Newmarket.ca/SnowClearing.
