Curb Cuts

Winter is here! Due to snow cover and cold temperatures, curb cuts will not be inspected or completed during the winter season (December 1 to March 31). Thank you for your cooperation.

There are several things to consider before making changes to your driveway:

• Parking must be on private property, not on the boulevard, as per the Boulevard By-law
• The driveway must extend a minimum of 5.75 m on private property to achieve a legal parking space
• Driveways cannot be more than 50% of the front yard area to ensure that 50% is landscaped
• Must be 1 m away from any above ground utilities
• Forestry Services will inspect and assess any request that is either within 2 metres of OR within the dripline of a City tree.

*The drip line is defined as the area beneath the outer most branch tips of a tree.

• The City requires ten business days to review curb cut requests.
• All curb cut requests require a site visit before approval. Owner/agent will be contacted by the City if any issues are preventing the curb cut approval.
• Should the site inspection reveal that more work is required (e.g. relocation of a sign or pole, a tree, the adjustment of a maintenance hole, relocation of a utility plant such as a hydro vault or a Bell telephone/cable box, etc.) the applicant will be advised.
• All costs associated with any modifications required, are the responsibility of the applicant.
• Curb Cut reviews are done between April 1 and November 30. Curb cut requests submitted outside these dates will be deferred. Applications and requests submitted close to the end of the season may be deferred at the City's discretion.
• Please note that the City is not responsible for curb cut requests within a Regional Road allowance. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify the road's jurisdiction before submitting the request.
• It may take a few weeks to complete the curb cut process after receiving the request. A third party contractor performs the curb cuts, so timelines cannot be guaranteed by the City.
• The location of the proposed curb cut must be staked/marked out and visible for inspection and if it is not, the inspection will be delayed.
• Curb cutting is done by horizontal curb cutting machine capable of providing an even and uniform cut through the full thickness of the curb however, 100% matching with existing depressed curb is not guaranteed.
• Under the Site Alteration by-law the elevation of the land within 0.6 m of the property line must not be changed unless approved under a Site Alteration Permit. There can be no change in the location, direction or elevation of any swale or ditch used to drain land. Visit our Landscaping and Grading webpage for more information regarding the grading and drainage of your property.

Driveways must meet all requirements set out in the Zoning By-law.

Curbs and Curb cuts

If you are re-paving your driveway and have questions about the condition of the curb and/or sidewalk in front of your driveway, contact Service Oshawa as soon as possible, we will have someone come out and assess the condition of the curb to determine if it requires replacement.

The City of Oshawa regulates curb cuts, which are breaks in the curb to allow you to widen driveway. Contact Service Oshawa to request the curb next to your property to be cut. If your request is approved, you will need to get a permit and to pay a fee at Service Oshawa. We will then send out a contractor to cut the curb.

Application for Access to Property

Once curb cut is approved, Road Operations will send you confirmation by email to your email address provided in the request.

You will receive all the details such as length of curb cut approved, total cost to be paid and a link for payment processing.

Once payment is received and when the minimum number of metres of curb to be cut have been accumulated, Road Operations will notify curb cut contractor to proceed with curb cutting.

Learn more about parking for accessory apartments 

New Subdivision Homeowners - Driveway Widening and Curb Cuts

If your subdivision has not been assumed by the City, the curbs are still under the developer's responsibility. You must first contact the developer through your builder and get written consent to be able to widen your driveway and curb cut. Afterwards, you can contact Service Oshawa for more information on how to start a request.

Fees

Plus additional costs may be applied associated with any modifications required such as relocation of signs, poles, or utility plants, maintenance hole adjustments.