UPDATE: Residential snow-plow in Regina begins Thursday, March 8
Regina and most of southern Saskatchewan is at a virtual standstill on Monday morning after getting walloped by a winter storm.
In Regina – 35 centimetres of snow has fallen since Saturday, March 3.
UPDATE: The city of Regina has confirmed that all parking tickets issued between 6 a.m. on March 5 to 6 a.m. on March 7, with the exception of vehicles parked along snow routes, will be cancelled.
No action is required on the part of residents who received parking tickets. The city has confirmed that they will be reviewing their policy to determine a more balanced approach in the future.
City crews are out in full force working to keep the main roads passable – but many streets are clogged and difficult to get through.
There were a number of vehicles in the ditch for the morning commute including several semi-trucks east of the city.
CAA has been busy, to say the least, over the last couple of days.
On March 2, 199 calls were received including 66 tows due to mechanical issues and 10 winches due to snow.
March 3 saw 205 calls with 69 of them being tows due to mechanical issues and 47 winches due to snow.
On March 4, from 12 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., 116 calls were received, including 29 tows due to mechanical issues and a total of 35 winches due to increased snowfall.
On March 5, from 12 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., 628 service calls were received around the province with 146 being in Regina. 80 of them being winches, 20 were tows and 46 were light services which included boosts, lockouts, air delivery and tire changes.
Snow covered roads have shut down the Trans-Canada Highway east of Balgonie.
Highway 1 heading west is open but flagged as having slippery and icy conditions on the Highway Hotline.
The heavy snowfall has prompted school bus cancellations across southern Saskatchewan.
In Moose Jaw, effective Tuesday, March 6 at 5 a.m., the city crews will pile the excess snow on Main Street from Oxford Street to Saskatchewan Street, temporarily eliminating the driving lanes closest to the centre median for both northbound and southbound traffic.
The city crews plan to haul away all recent snow collected from the city streets on Sunday, March 11.
UPDATE: The city of Moose Jaw advises that drivers who have received a parking ticket as a result of your vehicle being stuck will have their ticket revoked.
“We understand the issues facing drivers getting stuck in metered parking areas,” said Moose Jaw police chief Rick Bourassa.
“We’ve asked our Commissionaires to use discretion in these circumstances and, in some instances, our Commissionaires have helped push vehicles out from those spots.”
The city of Moose Jaw advises that if you have received a parking ticket due to being stuck in the snow, please call the number on the back of your ticket (306-694-4660) and the ticket will be rescinded.
As of 11 a.m. on March 6, Moose Jaw continues to deal with heavy snow within city limits.
The city of Moose Jaw confirmed that all priority 1 streets, including Thatcher Drive, 9th Avenue West and East, and Wigmore Hospital access have been plowed.
The city is now working on cleaning up the following priority roads:
- Fairford St. West from 4th-9th Avenue
- Coteau St West from 4th– 12th SW
- Manitoba St. from 3rd NW – 3rd NE
- Saskatchewan St. from Main-9th NW
- Caribou St. from 1st Avenue W – Thatcher Dr
In addition, the Iron Bridge subdivision will also be plowed at some point on March 6 due to safety concerns related to emergency access.
The city of Moose Jaw has had three graders at its disposal since the weekend and have contracted an additional grader to utilize for the remainder of the week as snow continues to be cleared in accordance to the city’s snow removal policy.
As of 10 a.m. on March 6, city transit is still not in operation.
The city of Moose Jaw reminds all residents that the snow route policy is in effect for all priority 1 areas and due to the extreme nature of this snow event, are asking there to be no parking on both sides of the road at this time.
Lastly, Main Street is down to one lane in each direction as snow is temporarily being stored around the centre median between Oxford and Saskatchewan Street and will be cleared by March 11.