In North York and Scarborough the City of Toronto plows your street and sidewalk and opens a gap in the windrow on eligible streets. In Markham the City plows the street and sidewalk, but clears the windrow only for registered residents aged 60 or over or with a disability. In all three, the driveway itself, the walkway and the front steps are the homeowner’s.
ByteZero builds the website, local SEO and Google Ads for The Blizzard Wizard, a residential-only snow removal company serving North York, Scarborough and Markham. Before the 2026–27 season we read both cities’ published winter rules line by line, because the gap between what the city clears and what a homeowner must clear is exactly what a snow removal company sells. This is that gap, community by community, with every rule sourced to the city that wrote it.
Key Takeaways
- Toronto, which includes North York and Scarborough, starts sidewalk clearing at 2 cm, plows residential streets at 8 cm, and opens a 3-metre gap in the windrow on eligible residential streets.
- Markham plows local roads at 7.5 cm and sidewalks at 5 cm, but clears windrows only for registered residents who are 60 or over or have a disability.
- No city clears your driveway, walkway or steps. Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 719 requires them to be cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall.
- Pushing snow onto the road or sidewalk is illegal in Toronto, with a C$500 fine plus a C$110 victim surcharge.
- In Markham, all on-street parking is banned during snow clearing operations, and permits and overnight exemptions do not apply.
What each city clears after a snowfall
North York and Scarborough follow City of Toronto rules. Markham sets its own, and the biggest difference is at the bottom of the driveway.
| Service | North York and Scarborough (City of Toronto) | Markham |
|---|---|---|
| Residential street plowing | Starts at 8 cm; about 14 hours per round | Local roads plowed at 7.5 cm or more; about 16 hours |
| Sidewalk clearing | Starts at 2 cm; a full round takes about 12 hours | At 5 cm or more, within 24 hours of the snow ending |
| Driveway windrow | 3-metre opening on eligible residential streets, aimed within about 2 hours of road plowing | Registered residents aged 60+ or with a disability only; one car width, within 4 hours of the road being plowed, after 7.5 cm |
| Left with the homeowner | Driveway, walkway, steps; the sidewalk next to your property when under 2 cm falls | Driveway, walkway, steps; the windrow for most households; the pile left by the sidewalk plow |
| Parking | On-street parking and obstructions slow windrow clearing | Banned on both sides of all City streets during snow clearing; permits not valid |
Sources: City of Toronto Salting & Plowing Roads and Sidewalk Clearing pages, and Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 719; City of Markham Winter Road Services page and Snow Windrow Removal Assistance application. Read October 26, 2026.
What stays with the homeowner
Read together, the city pages leave the same jobs with the person who owns the house:
- The driveway itself. No city clears it. Toronto’s by-law, section 719-4.1, requires steps, landings, walks, driveways and parking spaces to be cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall.
- The walkway, porch and stairs. No city service touches them, and in Toronto they fall under the same 24-hour rule. If they turn slippery afterwards, the by-law says to apply salt, sand or ashes as often as needed.
- The windrow, for most of Markham. Markham does not run windrow clearing city-wide. Unless you are registered for the assistance program, the ridge the plow leaves across your driveway is yours to clear.
- The sidewalk plow’s windrow. Markham’s program explicitly excludes it, and it is a second ridge to clear after the first.
- Everything below the plow trigger. A 3 cm overnight snowfall means salting, not plowing, on residential streets in both cities. The driveway still needs clearing before you can back out of it.
- Light snowfalls on Toronto sidewalks. Toronto starts sidewalk clearing at 2 cm. Below that, Chapter 719 makes the sidewalk next to your property your job, within 12 hours of the snow stopping.
Where the shovelled snow goes is the other half. In Toronto, section 719-5 bans moving snow from private property onto a road, sidewalk or laneway, so it has to be piled on your own lot. On a narrow lot with a long driveway, that is a real constraint, and a common reason homeowners hire out.
North York
North York sits inside the City of Toronto, so the 2 cm sidewalk trigger and the 24-hour driveway rule apply across it. What changes from one neighbourhood to the next is the housing.
- Willowdale. Detached homes on residential side streets off Yonge Street, many of them rebuilt with wider driveways. The windrow gap is 3 metres; the rest of a double driveway, the walkway and the steps are not covered.
- Bayview Village and York Mills. Larger lots and longer driveways: more snow to move, and more room to store it on the property, as the by-law requires.
- Don Mills. Mid-century bungalows and side-splits, often with steps at the front entrance. Steps are the slowest part of any clear, and they fall under the same 24-hour rule.
Before a big storm, check the City’s PlowTO map for your street’s plow status, and keep cars off the street and away from the bottom of the driveway, because on-street parking and obstructions slow the windrow machine down.
Scarborough
Scarborough follows the same City of Toronto rules as North York: sidewalks from 2 cm, residential streets from 8 cm, a 3-metre windrow opening on eligible streets, and 24 hours to clear your own driveway, walkway and steps.
- Agincourt and Wexford. Established neighbourhoods of mostly detached homes on residential streets, where the driveway, walkway and steps are the homeowner’s job after every snowfall.
- West Hill and Bendale. Residential streets where a car at the bottom of the driveway or a bin in the way slows the windrow machine. Keep the end of the driveway clear before a storm.
Light snowfalls are where Scarborough homeowners get caught out. Under 8 cm the street is salted, not plowed, and under 2 cm the City does not clear the sidewalk, which leaves the 12-hour sidewalk rule with you.
Markham
Markham is the community where the city does least at the end of the driveway. It plows local roads once 7.5 cm has fallen, which it says can take about 16 hours, and accepts snow-packed local roads below that. Sidewalks are plowed within 24 hours once 5 cm has accumulated.
- Unionville and Markham Village. Older streets with a mix of lot sizes. Unless a household is registered for the assistance program, the plow windrow at the curb is the homeowner’s to clear.
- Cornell and Berczy Village. Many homes in these newer communities sit on rear lanes. Markham plows lanes by pushing snow straight out and hauling it away, which is why rear-lane homes do not qualify for windrow assistance; the parking pad, walkway and front steps are still the owner’s.
- Milliken and Thornhill (Markham side). Detached and semi-detached homes on local roads, where on-street parking is banned during every snow clearing operation.
Between November 15 and April 15, when snow clearing is not under way, Markham allows parking only on the odd-numbered side of City streets unless signs say otherwise. During clearing, no on-street parking is allowed at all.
How The Blizzard Wizard fills the gap
The Blizzard Wizard serves homeowners only, not commercial lots, in North York, Scarborough and Markham, and its service list maps directly onto what the cities leave behind: driveway plowing, windrow removal, walkway and stair shoveling, sidewalk clearing, and de-icing and salt application.
Its seasonal packages use a 2 cm snowfall trigger, below the 7.5 cm and 8 cm thresholds at which these cities start plowing residential streets, with a 6–10 hour completion window after the snow ends for new 2026–27 bookings (its 4–6 hour window is fully booked). That keeps a cleared driveway well inside Toronto’s 24-hour limit. One-time clearing is available for a single storm. Every quote is written and lists the property, the areas to be cleared, the trigger, the service window, treatment options, access requirements and exclusions, and payment follows the confirmed quote.
Homeowners can compare the three communities and their neighbourhoods on The Blizzard Wizard’s page for residential snow removal in North York, Scarborough and Markham. Packages are on its pricing page, and the company can be reached at (647) 613-8133.
Why we built it this way
For the business owners who read this blog: a snow removal company sells in a window of hours, and the searches arrive with the storm. In Google Keyword Planner for Canada, pulled October 26, 2026, “snow removal markham” averaged 720 searches a month, peaking at 4,400; “snow removal scarborough” averaged 480, peaking at 2,400; and “snow removal north york” averaged 260, peaking at 1,000. In summer each fell to a few dozen.
That shape drives three decisions. Every community gets its own page with its own local detail, rather than one page listing every city. The service terms a homeowner compares, the trigger depth and the completion window, are published in plain text where search engines and AI assistants can read and quote them. And the Google Ads campaigns are built and approved before the first forecast, so budget can move the day snow is predicted. We cover the method in our snow removal marketing playbook and in the Blizzard Wizard case study; the wider practice sits under search engine optimization and paid ads management.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the City of Toronto clear driveways in North York and Scarborough?
Only the end of them. Toronto opens a 3-metre gap in the windrow on eligible residential streets, aiming to do it within about two hours of plowing the road. The rest of the driveway, the walkway and the steps are the homeowner’s, and Chapter 719 gives 24 hours to clear them.
Does the City of Markham clear the snow at the end of my driveway?
Only if your household is registered for its Snow Windrow Removal Assistance Program, which requires everyone living there to be 60 or older, or to have a doctor’s certificate confirming they cannot clear snow. Registered homes get one car width cleared within four hours of the road being plowed, after 7.5 cm of snow.
How long do I have to clear snow from my property in Toronto?
Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 719, section 719-4.1, requires steps, landings, walks, driveways and parking spaces to be cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall. If they become slippery afterwards, salt, sand or ashes must be applied as often as necessary.
Can I shovel snow onto the road in North York or Scarborough?
No. Toronto bans moving snow from private property onto a road, sidewalk or laneway, and the City lists a C$500 fine plus a C$110 victim surcharge. Shovelled snow has to stay on your own property.
Can I park on the street in Markham when it snows?
No. Markham bans parking on both sides of all City streets during snow clearing operations, and parking permits and overnight exemptions are not valid while they run. Clearing can start at the beginning of a snowfall and continue for up to 24 hours.
At what snowfall does a private snow removal service start?
It depends on the contract, so check the trigger depth before signing. The Blizzard Wizard’s seasonal packages start at 2 cm, with a 6–10 hour completion window after the snow ends for new bookings, while Toronto and Markham wait for 8 cm and 7.5 cm before plowing residential streets.
