EDMONTON — After receiving the first big snowfall of the season on Monday night and Tuesday morning, the City of Edmonton has declared a seasonal parking ban on priority routes.
The first ban of the season went into effect Tuesday at 11 p.m.
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“Due to the amount of snowfall received, we will dedicate our efforts to the arterial roads, bus routes and collector roads so that driving lanes are clear,” said Eduardo Sosa, director of roadway maintenance.
“We ask that residents on those routes find alternate parking so we can clear the roads quickly and efficiently.”
Vehicles left on designated parking ban routes after 11 p.m. risk being tagged and towed.
The city reminds residents that even if crews have already been through your area, the ban will remain in effect until plowing is complete across the entire city because crews may have to return for a second pass.
“Our plan is to put in the parking ban for the least time possible so that residents parking on collector roads can go back to their regular habits,” said Sousa.
Between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday, Edmonton police responded to 16 collisions; seven of those were property damage collisions, two were injury collisions and the other seven were hit and runs.
Snow clearing crews, made up of city staff and contractors, were out on the streets Monday afternoon and worked through the night plowing and sanding. There were more than 200 pieces of equipment on the roads overnight, and 178 on Tuesday morning.
“We are expecting to clear all the snow from our priority routes within 48 hours so by Thursday afternoon our residents should expect all our priority routes to be clear, depending on the weather for sure,” said Sosa. “But we are putting all our resources to make sure that we restore full mobility to the City of Edmonton.”
The city hasn’t announced details on a neighbourhood blading cycle, which will operate differently this year. In areas where neighbourhood blading is not completed on the scheduled weekday, work will now be finished on the weekend, instead of waiting until the following week’s set day as it did last winter. The set-day schedule for neighbourhood blading was introduced last year.
READ MORE: City of Edmonton tweaks snow plowing process for looming winter
Edmontonians can watch the progress of snow clearing on major roads on the new Major Roads Plowing Map. It will be updated three times a day, with the first update at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Click here for more information about winter roadway maintenance, including the neighbourhood blading schedule, seasonal parking bans and how to sign-up for email notifications. You can also call 311.
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