Citywide parking ban begins tonight, tickets to be handed out

A citywide parking ban begins Tuesday night in Edmonton so crews can clear major roads, core business areas and bus routes after close to 15 centimetres of snow blanketed the city.

• Snowfall warning over for Edmonton and region; 15 cm counted in some areas

Phase 1 of the ban begins at 7 p.m., and will include busier roads like Jasper Avenue and 124 Street.

Residents will not be able to park on arterial and collector roads, bus routes and all roads with seasonal no-parking signs or within the city’s 13 business improvement areas. 

Andrew Grant, the general supervisor of infrastructure operations, said any vehicles parked in the prohibited areas will be “subject to enforcement,” and that his crews would be working with bylaw officers through the duration of the ban.

Previously, the city had taken an education-first approach given this is the first year the new parking bans were being implemented.

But, Grant confirmed Tuesday: “We’re going to be enforcing the Phase 1 of the parking ban.”

Phase 1 is expected to take up to 48 hours to complete then a Phase 2 ban will be called.

Grant said Phase 2 won’t be rule enforced, for now, because the ban is still “fairly new” in residential areas.

Edmontonians can continue to park their vehicles on residential roads that do not have seasonal parking signs, as well as parking garages and public parking lots.

There’s also an interactive snow-clearing map residents can use to track the city’s progress.

Parking on these roads is permitted once they are completely cleared. Residents don’t have to wait for the city to end the ban.

Grant said crews will also be working on sending bigger equipment into the residential areas to help eliminate the layer of ice under the snow from a previous freezing rain event in the city.

“It’s going to be a massive undertaking.”

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