You finally clear the driveway, and twenty minutes later the city plow goes by and leaves a ridge of heavy, packed snow across the end of it. That ridge is the windrow, and in Barrie it’s the part of winter most people dread.
Who clears the windrow in Barrie?
You do. The City of Barrie is clear about this on its winter maintenance page: plows can’t control how much snow comes off the end of the wing, and all residents are responsible for removing driveway windrows because the city doesn’t provide that service. The city notes that offering windrow clearing citywide would cost more than $12 million a year.
Don’t push it back onto the road
It’s tempting to push windrow snow back into the street or across to the other side. The city says pushing snow onto or across the road is an infraction of its Nuisance (Use of Public Property) By-law. It also creates a hazard for drivers and just gets plowed back into someone’s driveway — often yours.
Pile it on your own property instead — ideally on the far side of the driveway in the direction the plow travels, so the next pass carries snow away from your driveway instead of back into it.
Overnight parking rules
Cars on the street slow plows down and leave bigger windrows. According to the city, from December 1 to March 31 overnight on-street parking isn’t permitted from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on city-owned streets, and from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. in the downtown BIA.
Source: City of Barrie (Sept 2026).
Tips that make windrows easier
- Clear a pocket first. Shovel out an area along the curb just before your driveway, on the side the plow approaches from. Some of the snow coming off the blade drops there instead of across your driveway.
- Get to it early. Windrow snow is dense and wet. It gets heavier as it sits and can freeze solid overnight.
- Leave room to pile it. Keep the first few feet along the road open early in the season so you’re not throwing snow over a six-foot bank in February.
- Keep the sidewalk clear. Downtown, adjoining property owners are responsible for sidewalks under the Snow Clearing (Downtown) By-law. Elsewhere the city maintains most sidewalks, but don’t bury them with driveway snow.
When the banks win
By late winter, the banks along the driveway can get so high that there’s nowhere left to put the next storm. Driveways narrow, sightlines disappear and the windrow freezes into a ridge of ice. That’s when a skid steer beats a shovel: pushing the banks back, widening the driveway and breaking up what’s frozen solid.
That specialty work is what we focus on in winter — see driveway widening and pushback and ice breaking and removal. We also offer residential snow plans for regular clearing, quoted to your property.
