November 10, 2021
The City of Edmonton is ready to help keep the public safe, and the streets, sidewalks and bike lanes moving. Trucks are loaded with sand, plow blades are installed, and the crews are ready to go.
“We want the public to know, when it snows, we are out working,” said Andrew Grant, General Supervisor of Infrastructure Field Operations, Parks and Roads Services. "Safety is our priority. We will maintain residential roads more frequently and when the snow really flies, we have the ability to implement a two-phased parking ban to help City crews clear streets quickly and safely."
Crews are dispatched proactively to start clearing roads and applying sand and salt as soon as snow starts falling. The first line of defense for snow and ice is to mechanically clear snow from the roads, with plows, brooms, blowers or other equipment. A sand and salt mix is then applied to roads for traction or to melt ice. Quantities of each material change depending on current and forecasted pavement and air temperatures to ensure crews use the right tool for the job and conditions.
Crews follow a priority hierarchy for road clearing. Priority 1 roads include arterial roads and business improvement areas, and are cleared within 36 hours from the end of snowfall. Priority 2 roads include collector roads and bus routes, and are cleared within 48 hours. Priority 3 roads represent industrial roads, which are cleared to bare pavement standard within five days, and rural roadways, which are maintained to a level snowpack within five days following the end of snowfall. Priority 4 are residential roads and alleys which are cleared once a 5 cm snowpack has formed and are not cleared to bare pavement.
Active pathways like bike lanes, multi-use trails, public stairs, bus stops and sidewalks around City facilities are cleared by a separate team with specialized equipment, so clearing starts at the same time as the roadways. The active pathway crews clear protected bike lanes and infrastructure adjacent to City facilities within 24 hours, followed by all other City-maintained active infrastructure within 48 hours. Manually cleared amenities are cleared within five days. Painted bike lanes are cleared at the same time as the adjacent road.
Last year a citywide two-phased parking ban was never called, due to a lack of snowfall. A two-phased parking ban allows for improved service from the City to clear streets more efficiently, when conditions require it. The citywide parking ban consists of the following:
- Phase 1: Crews clear arterial and collector roads, bus routes and business improvement areas. You may continue to park on your residential street.
- Phase 2 (begins after Phase 1): Crews clear residential and industrial roads. You may park in your driveway, in a parking space on a neighbours property with their permission, or on any road cleared during Phase 1 where parking is allowed normally.
Phase 1 is anticipated to last approximately 48 hours. Phase 2 is anticipated to last seven to nine days overall, but the impact to individual communities is expected to be less time — approximately 72 hours. In each phase, residents would be able to park on the street once it has been cleared.
The City encourages residents to plan ahead and to make a parking plan for when a parking ban is in effect. Residents are encouraged to winterize their vehicle, visit the City’s website to sign up to receive an email before each parking ban and to review the updated interactive map to see if their streets are included in Phase 1 or Phase 2.
Motorists are reminded to drive to conditions and maintain a safe following distance between vehicles, and to give snow and ice clearing crews room to work as they work to get the roads cleared.
