WATCH: Ross Lord reports that spring can’t come soon enough for many people in Halifax.
HALIFAX – Services in Atlantic Canada’s largest city are operating at reduced levels today, but Halifax Mayor Mike Savage says he’s confident work crews can dig the city out without declaring a state of emergency.
Savage says the extra powers that the city would get from declaring a state of emergency aren’t necessary and the municipality has taken additional steps to deal with more than 50 centimetres of snow that fell Wednesday.
READ MORE: Halifax Transit services suspended; city wide parking ban continues
The city has banned all street parking to help work crews clear the streets.
WATCH: Officials confirmed Thursday morning that it could take up to several days to recover from the most recent storm to dump a ton of snow on the Halifax area. Public transit, meanwhile, has been forced to make limited buses available.
Buses remained off the roads because a build up of heavy snow on a transit centre where 60 per cent of Halifax Transit’s fleet is stored made it unsafe to go inside.
Service was scheduled to resume later today on a reduced basis.
Across Nova Scotia, which was hit hardest by the storm, government offices delayed opening and military bases in Halifax were closed for the day.
WATCH: Halifax-area officials confirmed Thursday that Section 139 of the Motor Vehicle Act has been taken to allow the forced removal of cars that are in the way of snow plows trying to dig the city out.
Provincial Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan says the province is on track to spend about $75 million on snow clearing this year, which would be $17 million over budget.
Read the full recap of the press conference from reporter Marieke Walsh below:
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