Seasonal reference
Almost everything worth doing to a property between September and December has a window, and most of them are narrower than people expect. This is the whole season in order, with the parts that differ by municipality called out, because on this corridor they always do.
Leaves
Not the street, anywhere. And not loose at the curb either — all four cities require bags or a rigid container, and all four refuse plastic.
| Toronto | Vaughan | Markham | Richmond Hill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall collection | Every other week | Weekly through the fall | Weekly through the fall | Weekly through the fall |
| Usual season | Roughly mid-March to mid-December | Usually mid-October to early December | Usually November to mid-December | Usually mid-October to mid-December |
| Weight limit | Bundles up to 20 kg | Up to 20.5 kg per item | Up to 18 kg per item | Up to 18 kg per item |
| Branches | Branches up to 7.5 cm across, bundles up to 1.2 m | Branches up to 10 cm across, bundles up to 1.5 m | Branches up to 15 cm across, bundles up to 1.2 m | Branches up to 10 cm across, bundles up to 1.2 m |
| Loose leaves | Not accepted | Not accepted | Not accepted | Not accepted |
Toronto is the hardest of the four for leaves. Collection is only every other week all season, there is no weekly upgrade in the fall, and the mechanical vacuum leaf programme that used to run in Etobicoke, York and Scarborough has been discontinued. On a property with mature trees the leaves fall faster than the City collects them.
In Toronto, raking or blowing leaves into the street or gutter carries a $200 fine under Chapter 743. Every municipality here prohibits it, and Ontario's Highway Traffic Act prohibits depositing material on a roadway everywhere.
The winter gap
Toronto. The City clears a three-metre driveway opening within about two hours of plowing a residential street, and on collectors and arterials when the windrow is over 25 cm. It opens a gap in the ridge. It does not clear your driveway.
Vaughan. Vaughan clears driveway windrows city-wide, generally within about four hours of the plow passing. Vaughan says plainly that the machines clear only a portion of the entrance, that residual snow will be left, and that the windrow left by the sidewalk plow across your driveway is the homeowner's responsibility.
Markham. Markham clears windrows within about four hours of the street being plowed after snowfalls of 7.5 cm or more, but only for registered residents aged 60 or over, or with a disability. Roughly eight thousand homes qualify. If you are not on that list, the ridge across the end of your driveway is entirely yours. This is the biggest service gap of the four cities.
Richmond Hill. Richmond Hill clears windrows at more than fifty thousand residential driveways, starting about two hours after the road plows go out. Residents opt out rather than register, with a deadline in mid-November each year. The City aims for one car width and states it does not clear to bare pavement.
Winter parking matters too. Toronto: No general overnight ban, but during a declared major snow storm condition parking is banned on designated snow routes, and vehicles delaying crews can be towed even when legally parked. Vaughan: No on-street parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., year round, and never while plows are working. Markham: No on-street parking between 2:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. year round, and parking is prohibited on both sides of every City street during winter maintenance, which can run until 24 hours after snowfall ends. Richmond Hill: No parking on any street between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. from 1 December to 31 March.
Salt
On evergreens the damage comes mainly from spray, not from salt in the soil, which is why a physical barrier between the salted surface and the plant is worth more than any soil treatment.
Fine fescue tolerates roughly 8 to 12 mmhos/cm of soluble salt where Kentucky bluegrass, the standard GTA lawn grass, shows damage from about 3 to 6. That makes overseeding driveway and walkway edges with fine fescue a real fix rather than a sales line. About a foot of water in spring leaches roughly 80 percent of accumulated salt where drainage allows it.
Gypsum is not a general salt cure. On the wrong soil chemistry it increases the problem, so it belongs after a soil test, not before one.
Questions
Ontario's guidance puts the ideal window at mid-August to mid-September, with core aeration done first so the seed reaches soil rather than thatch. Soil is still warm, crabgrass has finished competing, and seedlings get eight to ten weeks to root before dormancy. Past mid-September it gets progressively riskier.
No. Toronto fines it $200 under Chapter 743, every municipality on this corridor prohibits it, and Ontario's Highway Traffic Act prohibits depositing material on a roadway province-wide. It also blocks catch basins, which is how a street floods during a thaw.
Mulching into the lawn is well supported. Michigan State found a six-inch layer of maple and oak could be mulched into established turf with no adverse effect, and Purdue found no harm to turf quality, colour, thatch, pH, weeds or disease, with less dandelion and crabgrass over time. Ontario agrees provided the layer stays under 15 cm. Pine needles are the exception. Whole leaves raked into beds shelter overwintering insects, so mulch the lawn and rake the beds.
It depends which city. Toronto and Vaughan clear windrows automatically, Richmond Hill does city-wide with a mid-November opt-out, and Markham only for registered residents aged sixty or over or with a disability. All four are explicit that the service is partial: Vaughan says residual snow is left and the sidewalk-plow windrow is the homeowner's job, and Richmond Hill says it does not clear to bare pavement.
Road salt. Kentucky bluegrass, which most GTA lawns are built from, shows damage at roughly 3 to 6 mmhos/cm of soluble salt, while fine fescue tolerates about 8 to 12. Overseeding that edge with fine fescue is a genuine fix, and about a foot of water in spring leaches roughly 80 percent of accumulated salt where drainage allows. Gypsum is not a general cure and on the wrong soil chemistry makes it worse.
Almost always skunks or raccoons after grubs, and September to November is exactly the European chafer damage window in the GTA. The turf lifts like a carpet because the roots have been eaten. Raising the summer cut height to 6 to 8 cm reduces next year's egg laying, because beetles prefer closely cropped lawns.
This season
Send your postal code and a few photos. I'll tell you what actually needs doing this fall and what can wait until spring.