Edmonton’s first parking ban of the 2018/19 winter season is set to go into effect at 1 a.m. Tuesday, after nearly a foot of snow fell across the region this past weekend.
As with previous seasonal parking bans, it will remain in place until major and collector roads are clear. The City of Edmonton will hold a news conference later Monday morning to share further details.
During seasonal parking bans, vehicles are not allowed to park on marked streets. Owners who ignore the ban may have their vehicle be tagged and towed. The bans allow snow removal equipment to clear roads quickly and properly.
READ MORE: Grading graders — how does Edmonton snow clearing compare to other Canadian cities?
Drivers across much of Alberta braced themselves for a slow, snowy Monday morning commute, after the snow began falling Saturday and didn’t let up all weekend.
As of early Monday morning, between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow fell in the Edmonton region, according to Global Edmonton weather specialist Mike Sobel.
READ MORE: Edmonton clarifies snow policy — how quickly must sidewalks be cleared?
Environment Canada said areas to the south received slightly less snow. As of Sunday evening, Red Deer recorded about 12 centimetres and the Calgary area reported about 10 centimetres.
Between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, 88 collisions were reported to Edmonton police, with all but 10 of them happening on the weekend.
Watch: Meteorologist Jesse Beyer has our seven-day weather forecast beginning Monday, Dec. 3. Some colder weather is sticking around for a bit.
EPS said of the 78 crashes between noon and midnight on Sunday, 13 were hit and runs. No injury collisions were reported. On Monday, 10 crashes were reported to police, with one being a hit and run and another causing injuries.
On Monday afternoon, an SUV was seen flipped over on its roof on a hill leading down to Queen Elizabeth Park off Saskatchewan Drive in Old Strathcona.
Emergency crews said the driver suffered minor injuries.
While they did not confirm the cause of the crash, it appeared to be related to treacherous driving conditions caused by the overnight snowfall.
On Sunday, the city said it doubled the number of road crews to try to keep up with clearing snow-covered streets, trails, bus shelters, and bike lanes.
Approximately 200 plows and graders, staffed by 250 people, were on the roads as of late Sunday afternoon.
READ MORE: Edmonton hit with blast of winter on last day of summer
Drivers were told to expect to see groups of snow plows or graders moving slowly through major and arterial roads, and were asked to be patient if they found themselves stuck behind a convoy.
A snowfall warning was in place briefly, from late Sunday to early Monday in Edmonton.
One of the best ways to track locally hazardous driving conditions is from local viewer reports. The #yegtraffic hashtag is often used by Twitter users reporting traffic issues within Edmonton.
If safe to do so, share your weather photos with us via the Global Edmonton Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can also post updates from your community using the hashtags #yegwx and #abstorm.
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