Edmonton’s residential road clearing parking ban to begin Jan. 12

After the biggest snowfall in recent memory, the City of Edmonton will soon begin dealing with the ruts and rough conditions on residential roads.

Mayor Andrew Knack announced the Phase 2 (residential roads) seasonal parking ban will start on Monday, Jan. 12 at 7 a.m.

It may last up to 14 days — during the weekdays only — and each neighbourhood will be directly impacted for approximately 72 hours as crews clear roadways.

During a Phase 2 ban, residential roads are not cleared to bare pavement, but rather bladed to a level snowpack of about five centimetres.

The city said snow will be placed on windrows along the road, boulevard areas and open green spaces where possible.

Skid-steers will follow larger equipment to make access points so people can get to their homes: 1.5-car widths on driveways and corner crosswalks.

Parking on residential roads will be allowed again on weekends, between Friday at 7 p.m. and Monday at 7 a.m.

While the city will be working in neighbourhoods, places like cul-de-sacs will take longer to be addressed.

The city said as plows work through each neighborhood, they will begin to clear the residential streets and the necks of cul-de-sacs. A full cul-de-sac clearing is anticipated to start after the Phase 2 residential parking ban.

The city said that’s due to the size and design of cul-de-sacs. They require specialized equipment and are cleared separately, based on snow accumulation and safety concerns.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Contract crews perform this work in stages, the city said, explaining the first stage involves piling snow in each cul-de-sac, with a separate crew handling final removal.

The piles may be in place for several days and the city said parents should not allow kids to play on the piles for safety reasons.

1:43 Edmonton residential streets still waiting for a plow

A Phase 2 ban is declared when there are severe safety concerns or greater than 10 centimetres of snow pack.

The city said approximately 3,800 km of residential roads will be cleared — further than the driving distance between Edmonton and Montreal.

The ban only affects individual neighbourhoods for around 72 hours when they are scheduled for clearing.

During those three days, the parking ban will be in effect 24 hours a day. The city said residents must adhere to the parking ban when crews are scheduled and active in each neighbourhood.

A notice of the scheduling will occur at least 24 hours ahead of time, when yellow “no parking” signs are placed at main entrances to neighbourhoods.

Plows can make several passes, so the city said residents should not resume parking until work in an area is confirmed to be completed.

The city said vehicles parked on residential roads when crews are active in the neighbourhood may be ticketed at the owner’s expense.

After crews have completed work in a neighbourhood, the ban will be lifted for that particular area and parking may resume even while the broader ban is in effect.

So where can you park during the ban in your own area?

The city said Edmontonians can continue to park on their own driveway, alley or in a garage, as well as on any road cleared during the Phase 1 parking ban (if parking is allowed normally.) That includes bus routes and roads with white “Seasonal No Parking” signs, which have been cleared.

The city has fielded thousands of concerns about the state of roads in recent weeks.

More than 10,000 complaints were recorded by 311 between Dec. 1, 2025 and Jan. 5 — twice as many as the same time frame last year.

There were more than 3,000 notifications to do with snow and ice bylaws (compared with 2,200 in 2024-25), 3,900 to do with snow clearing (compared with 1,100) and nearly triple the windrow concerns: 1,300 this year, compared with 480 last year.

1:54 Heavy snowfall creating accessibility struggles in Edmonton

• Heavy snowfall creating accessibility struggles in Edmonton
• Edmonton faces clearing challenges after weeks of heavy snowfalls
• Edmonton won’t get to plowing residential areas for at least 2 weeks
• Edmonton continues to clean up following massive Christmas snowfall
• Edmonton’s first Phase 1 parking ban of season ends with drivers being ticketed
• City of Edmonton crews respond to heavy winter storm

Previous Video

Next Video