The City of Edmonton says it will resume its Phase 2 parking ban and snow clearing Saturday night after a temporary pause.
The ban was originally planned to stop residential snow clearing for the weekend, but late Friday night, the city says it was reversing its decision to expedite the clearing of neighbourhood roads.
The Phase 2 parking ban was lifted temporarily on Friday night but will resume at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“The residential parking ban was intended to be paused for the weekend, allowing crews to focus on other aspects of snow and ice control operations, such as school zones, windrow pick-up and alley maintenance,” the statement read.
“Now, once the parking ban resumes on January 17, residential roadway clearing will continue 24 hours-a-day through to completion across Edmonton.”
The city adds that neighbourhoods that had not yet been scheduled for clearing will receive snow-plowing services this weekend.
Since the ban went into effect Jan. 12, the City of Edmonton says so far, crews have completed 43 per cent of residential roadways.
While work continues, some residents say rutted roads are making it difficult, and in some cases, impossible to get around.
Doug Marchesi lives in Webber Greens in the west end and said a garbage truck became stuck in the thick, oatmeal-like snow on his street Thursday — leaving behind a deep rut in front of his driveway.
“It’d take a lot of hard shovelling and I can’t do it,” Marchesi said as he chipped away at the packed snow.
The rut stretches two big truck tire widths down the street and is more than 30 cm deep in some areas. Marchesi says it’s more than his SUV’s undercarriage clearance can manage.
“I can’t shovel it. It’s frozen,” he said.
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“Even with warmer temperatures coming, it’s a lot of snow to move.”
Marchesi contacted the city through 311, but was told he would have to wait.
“They said there’s nothing they can do right now. I have to wait five days until they’re in this area,” he said.
In an update Friday, the city said 311 is not accepting new requests related to specific residential roadways while large-scale clearing continues.
Individual requests will resume once residential snow-clearing is complete.
Parked vehicles still on roads remain the most significant obstacle, the city said.
If vehicles are left on the street, windrows may be placed around them, making it a challenge to move the vehicles afterwards.
If too many vehicles remain on neighbourhood streets, the city warned those areas may be rescheduled or skipped.
The city said it’s currently on track to completing Phase 2 clearing by Friday, Jan. 23, by 7 p.m. but that also depends on conditions.
Positive temperatures this week required operational adjustments to residential roadway clearing, the city said on Friday, as warm temperatures resulted in a bigger volume of snow to be cleared from roads.
To mitigate windrows as best as possible, neighbourhoods with boulevards and more space to place cleared snow have been scheduled first.
In addition, the city said it used contracted graders instead of truck plows to account for the warmer conditions.
After a week of balmy weather, temperatures are set to go back below zero.
The city said as the mercury drops the clearing conditions will improve, allowing crews to level the snowpack in neighbourhoods where there is minimal space for windrows.
For this work, crews will aim to leave a base snowpack of 5 cm.
Initial clearing by graders will result in windrows among some houses, driveways and crossways, but the city said a city skid steer crew will follow up behind graders within four hours, to clear a 1.5-metre width opening on driveways and crosswalks.
Until then, health professionals are warning residents to be cautious where streets and sidewalks are still icy.
“Everything from something small like a sprained ankle to something more catastrophic like a head injury — we’re seeing it all,” said physiotherapist Grant Fedoruk.
Fedoruk says keeping walking surfaces clear and staying alert are key to preventing falls.
“You see it quite often when people are in an unusual scenario,” he said. “They might look around when leaving a building, but not when getting out of their car.”
As Marchesi continues working to clear his sidewalk, he hopes city crews will soon address the road outside his home.
“Now I can’t back out because they’re fairly deep,” he said.
The city said it has received reports of private skid steers offering their services for payment.
Residents are reminded city staff or city-hired contractors will not approach people to offer those kinds of services, nor will city crews ask to be paid to complete snow-clearing.
The city cautioned if someone hires a third-party contractor to clear snow on their public street and damage to city property occurs, the individuals hiring the contractors may be held liable.
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