Should you have to shovel snow from the sidewalks outside your home? That's one question a City of Winnipeg committee is considering.

The city's public works committee is shovelling the idea around, which is buried in Winnipeg's proposed pedestrian and cycling strategy, based on the belief it would result in cleaner sidewalks.

"Requiring residents to clear the residential sidewalks abutting their homes may be something the City considers in the future if it could result in an increase in service level. There are many factors affected by this possible change in policy that have not been investigated at this time," the city's strategy report states in part.

The report says snow that is cleared within 24 hours is easier to remove and can be done by homeowners themselves rather than having to wait for heavy equipment.

It is possible the savings could be used to increase the quality of snow clearing on higher-priority sidewalks, according to the city.

The report also recommends penalties should be imposed on residents who fail to clear their snow.

The recommendation from the pedestrian and cycling strategy is separate from the city's comprehensive review of its snow clearing operations.

Officials are examining the quality and costs of the street clearing done by private contractors hired by the city, as well as the history of complaints related to the contractors' work.

The review was supposed to be done by June, but public works manager Brad Sacher told the committee on Tuesday that his staff needs more time to complete it.

Sacher said employees have been swamped with work, and that has pushed back completion of the report.

The department now has until September to finish the report and submit it to councillors.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees argues that Winnipeg can save money by getting city staff to clear snow instead of private contractors.

Union president Mike Davidson says of the 400 Winnipeggers who provided the union with feedback, about two-thirds of them were fed up with contractors.

Many of those who raised concerned about the contractors' work reported having their property damaged from snow plows, he said.

"They can't go to the city. They're told to go back and deal with the contractor. They're ending up in court," Davidson said.

"Many citizens feel, 'Look, we've elected councillors to make decisions on our behalf. Why are we dealing with contractors around the issue of snow plowing?'"

Davidson added that contractors cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and are never forced to fix it.

Read the full text of the City of Winnipeg's pedestrian and cycling strategy below. The details related to sidewalk snow removal are on pages 248 to 255.