Phase 2 parking ban lifted in Edmonton Friday night

The City of Edmonton lifted the Phase 2 parking ban at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The citywide ban had been in place for nearly a month, with city and contract crews working to clear snow and ice in residential neighbourhoods down to bare pavement.

It was no easy feat, with road crews being met with all types of winter weather along the way, from several freeze/thaw cycles, to freezing rain and snow.

“This was a huge undertaking and a service level we haven’t provided for many years,” said Andrew Grant, general supervisor of infrastructure operations.

Residential roads were cleared in all 375 Edmonton neighbourhoods, translating to about 4,000 kilometres of roadways.

The Phase 2 ban was initially activated on Dec. 20, 2020. But a week later, it was put on pause because of extremely cold temperatures. The parking ban, and residential blading, resumed on Jan. 10 with the entire city on the agenda again for snow clearing.

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Grant said the residential clearing was difficult in some neighbourhoods because the roads still had several vehicles parked on them when crews arrived to do their work.

The city said 1,786 tickets were handed out to drivers who did not move their vehicles.

“We do want to sincerely thank the thousands of Edmontonians that partnered with us on this work and moved their vehicles when it was their turn for residential clearing,” Grant said.

“Whether you moved your vehicle a few hours in advance or even just a few minutes before a grader reached your house, we greatly appreciate this co-operation. It takes a community effort to deliver on effective snow clearing.”

While the Phase 2 parking ban was in place for four weeks, individual communities were only affected for about 72 hours each.

With flurries expected in Edmonton Friday and warmer weather on the way, Grant said crews are out putting a sand-and-salt mix on the roads.

Grant said the city is still currently operating within its 2022 snow and ice budget.

“As the work commences and moves forward, we are tracking that. It has been a busy year. We’ve seen a surge in our operations, for sure.”