Are gutters the only way to fix this ice accumulation issue?
Sure, there's a solution that requires no annual maintenance (well, no more than the whole house needs) but that would be to rebuild the roof so it does not dump there. Which you might consider a rather major task, but hey, you asked. Thank the architect for causing the problem for you.

Simplest solution will be a section of gutter and a section of heating cable (run only as needed) to keep the downspout and gutter functional with ice. But you might need to clean it, yes.

Most absurdly expensive solution to operate would be to retrofit ice-melting heat (electric cable or fluid/heat exchanger) into the walkway itself. Truly crazy expensive to run, but some places do that.