For anyone walking in Richmond Hill this winter, every step has become a calculation. With icy sidewalks, frozen puddles, and snowbanks blocking crosswalks, routine trips to the bus stop or grocery store now carry a real risk of injury.
After every snowfall, city crews fan out across Richmond Hill with plows and salt trucks, working visibly and urgently to keep roads passable. Lanes are cleared, intersections scraped, and traffic keeps moving. But just a few feet away from those cleared streets, a very different winter reality confronts pedestrians.
In recent days, freezing rain and fluctuating temperatures have turned many sidewalks into hazardous obstacle courses. Black ice has formed on poorly cleared walkways, making even short walks treacherous. In some areas, warmer temperatures earlier in the week melted uncleared snow on sidewalks, but windrows piled along the curbs prevented the water from draining. The result was shallow ponds stretching across pedestrian paths.
Concerns about icy sidewalks and the risks they pose—particularly to vulnerable pedestrians—were raised with a Richmond Hill city councillor. The response, according to those present, was blunt: “They better not slip.”
When temperatures dropped again, those puddles froze over with a thin, deceptive layer of ice. Each step now carries a risk: either breaking through into icy water or slipping on a slick surface. For seniors, people with mobility challenges, parents pushing strollers, or anyone simply trying to walk to a bus stop or cross the street, these conditions are more than an inconvenience—they are dangerous.
Windrows at curbs present another barrier. In many locations, they block access to crosswalks entirely, forcing pedestrians to climb over mounds of frozen, slippery snow just to cross the street. What should be a basic, safe movement through the city instead becomes a test of balance and luck.
The City of Richmond Hill does have policies in place. There are set timelines for clearing both roads and sidewalks after snowfalls. But as snow continues to fall, these deadlines feel elastic—constantly shifting and stretching. Meanwhile, enforcement of existing bylaws requiring property owners to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes or businesses appears inconsistent at best.
This gap between policy and practice is not lost on residents. Recently, concerns about icy sidewalks and the risks they pose—particularly to vulnerable pedestrians—were raised with a Richmond Hill city councillor. The response, according to those present, was blunt: “They better not slip.”
It is a remark that has struck many as dismissive of a very real problem. Slips and falls on ice are not minor mishaps; they can result in serious injuries, lost mobility, and long-term health consequences. Unlike drivers, pedestrians have no protective shell, no airbags, and no alternative routes when sidewalks become impassable.
Winter is not an unexpected challenge in Richmond Hill. Snow, freezing rain, and temperature swings are part of life here. Keeping streets clear is important—but so is recognizing that sidewalks are not optional infrastructure. They are essential public spaces that deserve the same attention, urgency, and enforcement as the roads beside them.
Until that balance is restored, many residents will continue to face a stark choice each winter day: stay home, or risk a slip just to take a walk.