As people in Regina woke up to the first real snowfall of the season, many of them were out this morning with shovels and brooms to clear their walkways and city sidewalks.

The city's proposed budget for 2015 includes a record $8.9 million on snow clearing. It says that will help it keep priority streets clear after major snowfalls, as well as expand its regular snow-clearing services into new neighbourhoods.

Sidewalks in residential areas, however, are left to homeowners and clearing them is strictly voluntary. The city budget says it aims to clear more of those sidewalks this year by continuing to promote its "Snowbusters" program.

The city says that voluntary approach gets as much compliance from residents as mandating they clear their sidewalks through a bylaw, as other cities do.