Winnipeg snow route parking ban in effect as of Friday

Its that time again, time for all who normally park on the street to find somewhere else to keep their car overnight.

The City of Winnipeg annual parking ban runs from Dec. 1 until the beginning of March.

When the ban is in effect, parking is prohibited on snow routes between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.  The ban is enforced each year in an effort to ensure critical routes are cleared of snow and that emergency vehicles have safe access throughout the city.

Anyone found parking on a snow route overnight could be fined $100 and/or towed to a compound.  New this year, the city’s parking authority will be mailing out tickets in addition to placing notices on vehicles.

If you are not sure if where you plan to park is a snow route, you can use the city’s online address lookup tool, call 3-1-1, or just look for these signs:

The City of Winnipeg has a total of five winter parking bans. The Snow Route ban is the only one that follows the calendar.

Four others occur on an as-needed basis:

1. Declared Snow Route Parking Ban – this applies to snow routes when extra time is needed for overnight plowing on snow routes after a snowfall. When a declared snow route parking ban is in effect, the overnight parking prohibition starts at midnight instead of 2 a.m. and lasts to 7 a.m.
2. Residential Parking Ban –  do you know your zone? This ban is activated to allow for more efficient clearing of residential streets after an extreme snowfall.  The city identifies zones to be cleared, after which they are plowed in 12-hour shifts, around-the-clock. Vehicles parked on residential streets during the 12-hour period when a zone is scheduled for clearing may be ticketed and/or towed.  If you are unsure of your zone, or the letter of another area where you will be visiting or doing business, check the city’s know your zone link on their website before you go.
3. Snow Emergency – a Snow Emergency can be declared by the mayor at any time, which prohibits parking on snow routes at any hour.
4. Temporary No Parking – temporary “No Parking” signs are posted when streets require extra attention for snow removal. Obey the sign or pay a fine.

The city now has an official ‘know your zone‘ app available for download, as well as a free notification service which will tweet or email subscribers when any of the parking bans go into effect. Contact 3-1-1 or go here to sign up.