'Tis the season: residential parking ban starts Friday
After a heaping serving of white stuff, the City of Winnipeg is going to start snowplowing residential streets this week.
That means drivers will have to 'know their zone' to know where it's safe to park.
The residential parking ban starts at 7 a.m. on Friday.
Jim Berezowsky, manager of street maintenance with the city, said Priority 1 and 2 streets and roadways are the focus of snow clearing efforts right now.
A snowfall of five centimetres or more triggers city crews to clear snow on a Priority 1 street like Pembina Highway, typically within a 36-hour period, Berezowsky said.
The city tries to clear Priority 3 residential streets, like Machray Avenue for instance, five business days from when five centimetres of snow or more hit the ground, he added.
"Citizens have to be patient but also there's a little bit of doing your own part in your close proximity of your home, helping out your neighbours," Berezosky said. "I know Winnipeg is a very supportive group of people when it comes to helping out your neighbourhood."
Winnipeggers can find out what zone to avoid when they park using the city's address lookup tool. If they prefer, drivers can also call 311 or use the Know Your Zone app.
The first residential areas to be plowed Friday are zones A, F, I, M, P, Q, T, U. Drivers in these areas will have to park elsewhere between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to avoid a $75-$150 ticket and tow.
The city usually sets aside just over $5 million for snow clearing in December. The city spent between $5-$7 million cleaning up after a winter storm on Dec. 17, 2015. Berezosky says Winnipeg was hit with similar conditions this week.
"Anytime this city endures a storm event of that magnitude it's going to pose a challenge to your budget," he said. "With our operations for the month of December we are planning an average expenditure for the month."
A declared snow route parking ban, which extends the snow route parking ban by two hours (to midnight until 7 a.m.), is also in effect on snow routes Wednesday and Thursday night, the city said in a news release.
If a car is towed, the city said drivers can call 311 to find out where it was left.
City schedule for residential snowplowing:
- Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., zones A, F, I, M, P, Q, T and U.
- Friday from 7 p.m. to Saturday at 7 a.m., zones B, G, J, L, N, R and V.
- Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., zones E, H, K, O and S.
- Saturday from 7 p.m. to Sunday at 7 a.m., zone D.
- Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., zone C.
