EDMONTON – On the heels of the latest dumping of snow, which has again wreaked havoc on Edmonton’s roads, the City has issued its third seasonal parking ban.
All vehicles must be removed from signed bus routes by 7 a.m. Saturday, or risk being ticketed and towed.
During the last parking ban this month, the City issued more than 150 tickets, with crews encountering one problem in particular.
“We do go back to areas after they’ve been graded and we did find too many vehicles that had gone back to park before the ban was lifted,” said Parking Enforcement Coordinator Erin Blaine. “So we have some work to do around that.”
The City hasn’t said yet when it’ll start residential blading.
Up to 15 centimetres of snow fell in the Capital Region on Wednesday and Thursday, and another three to five centimetres is expected to fall in Edmonton Friday.
All the snow has been hard on the city’s snow removal budget.
“I would say we’re going to be in the range of $10 million over budget,” said the city’s director of roadway maintenance, Bob Dunford. “To the end of last week, we’ve moved over 300,000 cubic metres of snow off the roads already to our snow sites – that’s a lot more than we normally would this time of year.”
READ MORE: City of Edmonton could remove snow faster, but are you willing to pay the extra cost?
The snow has also made for some trying times for motorists.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) responded to 16 collisions between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday:
- Six hit and runs
- Five injury collisions
- Five property damage collisions
On Thursday, EPS responded to 90 property damage collisions, 22 hit and runs, and nine injury collisions.
“People just don’t seem to be adjusting to the conditions,” said Insp. Brian Nowlan, blaming driver attitude for many of the crashes.
“They find somebody in front of them is driving below the speed limit, and they find that just isn’t right. So they’ll do what they can to get around that person, and it’s a hazard.”
He stressed that having winter tires or four-wheel drive does not make you immune to the slippery streets, nor will it necessarily help you brake faster.
“They’re locking up, going right through the intersections, putting pedestrian lives in danger and, of course, other vehicles.”
READ MORE: Safety tips for driving in winter
Nowlan’s asking motorists to be more careful, as the high number of crashes are tying up police resources.
But they’re also bringing in big business for body shops around the city. Lodi Nicolacopoulos from Herber’s Autobody Repair says their office has been flooded with about 200 calls a day.
“It’s been crazy,” she said.
According to Nicolacopoulos, an average repair this time of year will set you back anywhere from $4,500 to $8,000.
Another reason to just slow down.
WATCH: Ross Neitz reports on the busy time for emergency responders, tow companies, and auto body shops.
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