City of Regina plans to clear all open pathways, even ones that lead to nowhere

The city will plow all open space pathways pending budget approval next year.

The community and protective services committee decided on that option in their October 9 meeting. The report was then forwarded to council for their meeting Monday night.

The city has 88 kilometres of pathway, 61.1 km of which are already cleared by parks maintenance. Clearing all pathways carries a potential to damage turf and infrastructure, according to the report.

Some of the pathways are redundant and others lead to nowhere. 

It would also cost about $49,000 for labour and equipment and an estimated $136,000 capital investment in fleet. It's also not in alignment with the long-term financial viability goals the city has outlined in several plans. 

The other options were: 

• Clearing eligible, recreational-use pathways longer than one kilometre. That would have meant plowing four additional kilometres of paved pathways, which would increase the percentage of pathways cleared from 69 per cent to 74 per cent. This increased labour would have cost $4,600.

• Maintaining current service levels, which meet the community transportation and long-term financial goals of the city.

In council, it was discussed that the parks department and the roadways department work together to find "efficiencies" when the time for snow clearing comes. 

With files from CBC News