Know your zone: city to start plowing residential streets

WINNIPEG – The City of Winnipeg says it will start clearing snow from residential streets on Tuesday at 7 p.m., nearly a week after a storm dumped 12 to 17 centimetres on the city.

“I’m getting a lot of calls, more than I do on most issues,” St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes said Tuesday.

Several city councillors attended a public works committee meeting Tuesday to urge city staff to start clearing residential streets, many of which sport deep ruts and craters in the snow that fell Wednesday and has since frozen solid.

“The roads are terrible in Winnipeg right now,” said Tony Snajdar, a delivery driver.

“It is tricky and it is frustrating,” said Kristin Lind, a River Heights resident.

A residential parking ban will also go into effect Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will be latest test for residents to “know your zone”: the ban only applies to areas where plows will be working and drivers have to know which zone they live in and when they have to move their cars. Leaving a vehicle in the way of snowplows will result in a ticket and possibly a tow.

“We’ve done two years of awareness and now we are asking Winnipeggers to know their zone,” said Jim Berezowsky, the city’s manager of streets maintenance. “Make the necessary arrangements, because ticketing and towing will begin tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.”

Full text of city news release on residential snow clearing

The public is advised that the plowing of residential streets will begin Tuesday evening, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. to improve the overall condition of residential streets. As a result, a Residential Parking Ban has been declared and will be in effect starting Tuesday evening.

Residents are urged to confirm their snow zone letter of the alphabet at www.knowyourzone.winnipeg.ca or by contacting 311. Citizens are encouraged to verify their snow zone letter today or this evening because the City anticipates higher than normal call volumes to 311 Tuesday morning when Leisure Guide registration starts. 

Winnipeggers are also reminded to be aware not only of which snow zone letter has been assigned to their residential street, by visiting www.knowyourzone.winnipeg.ca or calling 311 to know the zone letter of any residential streets where they might park when a Residential Parking Ban is in effect.

Starting at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, December 10, residents of snow zones B, J, L, M, O, R, V will need to move their vehicles as plowing will be underway in those zones until 7:00 a.m. Wednesday. Please refer to the entire schedule below for details about when snow zones will be cleared this week.

THIS WEEK’S RESIDENTIAL PARKING BAN SCHEDULE FOR SNOW ZONES

Tuesday, December 10, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday, December 11
B, J, L, M, O, R, V

Wednesday, December 11 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
E, G, I, P, S, U

Wednesday, December 11 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Thursday, December 12
D, F, H, K, N, T, Q

Thursday, December 12 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
C

Thursday, December 12 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday, December 13
A

“The City is urging motorists to move their vehicles, when their zone is scheduled, to an off-street parking location such as a driveway, parking lot, or nearby street not currently scheduled for clearing,” said Jim Berezowsky, Manager of the City’s Streets Maintenance Division. “When vehicles are parked in violation of the regulations, it impacts the snow clearing operation and no one wants to see streets only partially cleared due to vehicles parked in the way.”

Vehicles parked in violation of the residential parking ban will receive a $150 ticket ($75 if paid early), and may be towed to a nearby street that is not scheduled to be cleared, or that has already been cleared. If you believe your vehicle may have been towed due to the residential parking ban, please contact 311 for assistance in locating it. There will not be warning notifications during the upcoming Residential Parking Ban. Tickets will be issued and vehicles may be towed if parked in violation of the ban.

For the residential streets that are scheduled, residents are urged to find an alternative place to park such as an off-street driveway or parking lot, or a nearby street that is not currently scheduled for plowing. This will help the plowing operation run smoothly and will prevent you from being ticketed and towed.

The Residential Parking Ban applies to specific snow zones across the city in 12-hour shifts that will start at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10 and continue to 7:00 a.m. Friday, December 13.

The schedule for clearing in affected snow zones will appear on the City’s website at knowyourzone.winnipeg.ca as of Monday, December 9 and automated Twitter messages and email to subscribers will also begin at that time. The City’s website will also display this information on a map that is updated daily starting this Tuesday, while snow clearing is underway. The map will highlight those residential streets where the ban applies for the current and next shift.

The residential snow zone letters are the same as they were during the last residential plow in March 2013. If residents do not know their snow zone, they are urged to visit knowyourzone.winnipeg.ca or call 311 to confirm their letter, and to determine when their snow zone is scheduled to be cleared. The public is also encouraged to sign up in advance for email or Twitter notifications through knowyourzone.winnipeg.ca to find out when designated snow zones are scheduled for clearing.

In 2011 City Council approved changes to improve Winnipeg’s winter parking bans to ensure even more timely and effective clearing of snow and ice from city streets. The most significant change is to the Residential Parking Ban which, when declared, will be in place around-the-clock and will apply in 12-hour shifts, day and night, in designated snow zones across the city.

Plowing operations commenced in accordance with the City Council-approved Snow Clearing and Ice Control Policy, which can be found online at City of Winnipeg – Snow Clearing Policy