Winter Maintenance Resources
- stickers, posters and decals
- closed area sign
- free property review
- templates and forms
- guidelines and beneficial practices
- webinar recordings and videos
- fact sheets and articles
Free resources for business and commercial properties to support your winter maintenance plan.
Communication materials
Salt storage bin sticker
- Attach to salt storage containers as a reminder about responsible salt use
- 8 x 6 inch sticker with peel off back
Complete form to request salt bin stickers, window caution decals or winterize your feet posters
Window decal: Caution slippery during winter conditions
- Display at entrances as a health and safety reminder
- Vinyl window cling, printed on one side
- Self-sticks to glass, removable at end of season
- 5 x 7.5 inches
- Available in four layouts
Complete form to request salt bin stickers, window caution decals or winterize your feet posters
Poster: Winterize your feet
- Health and safety reminder to wear proper winter footwear
- Two designs available
- 8.5 x 11 inches
- Request printed copies or download PDF file to print
- Winterize your feet poster 1 PDF print file
- Winterize your feet poster 2 PDF print file
Complete form to request salt bin stickers, window caution decals or winterize your feet posters
Outdoor sign: Area Closed
- Display at closed areas not receiving winter maintenance
- Use as a communications tool to inform staff and visitors
- Close off unneeded areas that do not block emergency exits, accessibility ramps or entrances
- Examples of areas to close include overflow parking, seasonal patios and extra walkways and stairways
Complete form to request an Area Closed sign
Benefits of closing areas might include:
- focus efforts on high traffic areas
- reduce plowing and salting costs and repairs from salt damage
- manage risk from potential slip and fall hazards
- provide a location to store plowed snow
Sign specifications:
- Size: 30 cm wide x 45 cm high (12 inches wide x 18 inches high)
- Material: aluminum steel
- Weight: 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs.)
- Display options: hang from chains, mount on post or attach to fence (property owner responsible for hardware to display sign)
Free property review
Properties near municipal groundwater wells may need to follow a winter maintenance Risk Management Plan as a requirement of the Grand River Source Protection Plan, 2022 and Clean Water Act, 2006.
For a limited time, the Region of Waterloo is offering free property reviews to properties requiring a risk management plan. During the 60-minute consultation, a Region of Waterloo representative will walk the property with you to identify actions to reduce salt use while maintaining winter safety.
Find out if your business requires a risk management plan and qualifies for this free service. If your property does not require a risk management plan, you will be directed to an alternate planning worksheet you can use to design your winter maintenance plan.
Complete form to find out if your business qualifies for free property review
Templates and forms
Pre-season planning
- Planning worksheet with beneficial practices to consider as part of your winter maintenance plan
Contract preparations
- Standard snow and ice maintenance contract form (Landscape Ontario)
- Procurement of winter maintenance services training (Smart About Salt Council)
Record keeping log sheets
- Salt record keeping form to display at entrances to record salt used when icy and between contractor visits (Region of Waterloo)
- Sample recording keeping form (Smart About Salt Council)
- Sample recording keeping form (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)
Calibrating equipment records
Understanding and recording the amount of salt applied allows you to better estimate annual operational costs, apply salt responsibly and offer evidence of due diligence when challenged.
- Verification protocol for parking lot salt spreaders (Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program)
- Salt spreader verification worksheet (Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program)
- Salt calibration calculations (Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program)
Guidelines and beneficial practices
- Smart About Salt Council offers training and certification for contractors and property owners
- Manual of best management practices for road salt in winter maintenance (Clear Roads)
- Good practices for winter maintenance in salt vulnerable areas (Conservation Ontario and Ontario Good Roads Association)
- Procurement guidance for parking lot snow and ice management (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority)
- Snow and ice control practices on parking lots and sidewalks (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority)
- Salt application best practices for winter maintenance contracts (Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program)
- Parking lot design guidelines (Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority)
Webinar recordings and videos
- Webinar (27:39): managing your slip and fall risk and cost saving tips (Region of Waterloo)
- Webinar (2:29:54): sustainable winter management workshop 2023 (Partners in Project Green)
- Video (2:09): a new approach to winter maintenance (Region of Waterloo)
- Video (1:59): contract basics (Region of Waterloo)
- Video (2:40): preventing ice before it occurs (Region of Waterloo)
Fact sheets and articles
- The side with the best records often wins a slip and fall lawsuit (Landscape Ontario)
- Legislative solutions to slip and fall liability (Landscape Ontario)
- Actions to consider when preparing your winter maintenance plan (Region of Waterloo)
- Best practices deliver big results (Landscape Trades magazine - snow & ice issue)
- Alternates to salt (Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program)
- Sand versus salt (Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority)
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