Every year, the first snowfall of significance results in a little confusion as to which streets qualify as designated snow routes and when parking bans may be enforced.
All municipalities create their own snow-clearing bylaws and it’s important to note that those bylaws may be amended from year to year. Thus, everyone should make a point of informing themselves about the rules well before the first snow event occurs.
Designated Snow Routes
In most communities, certain streets are designated as snow routes. These usually include the main arterial streets passing through a community. They take first priority for clearing after a snow event, enabling traffic to quickly resume their usual flow.
In Niverville, the snow routes include 16 streets or partial streets and one back lane. The town’s website lists these streets and provides a map for further clarity.
According to CAO Eric King, all the designated snow routes have permanent signs erected along them.
From November 1 through May 1, Niverville’s designated snow routes are subject to parking restrictions in order to keep these main arteries open for snow clearing when needed.
Drivers are discouraged from parking their vehicles on a designated snow route between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., every day of the week. Vehicles or trailers parked on these are at risk of being ticketed or towed at the owner’s expense.
“The town’s intent is not to actively enforce no parking when there is no snow,” says Mayor Myron Dyck. “However, residents who choose to park on the designated snow route do this at their own risk, as the cleaning of the [these] streets remains at the discretion of the town and enforcement of the parking regulations will be enacted as needed.”
Winter Parking Bans
The remainder of Niverville’s streets, which are not designated snow routes, fall under the street parking ban bylaw when it comes to snow-clearing.
On these streets, the town reserves the right to create short-notice parking bans during the same 12-hour timeframe.
Notices regarding street parking bans will be posted on the town’s website or their Facebook page by noon the day prior to the ban being implemented. Residents are strongly encouraged to check these sites during a snow event to determine whether their street will be affected.
Residents should also be aware that parking bans can be implemented for snow-hauling as well. This could occur after snow-clearing efforts are already completed.
In Niverville, graders and ploughs are required to pile the snow somewhere until such a time as it can be picked up and hauled away. Before a development plan is approved by council, the developer must provide proof that snow storage areas will be created in each neighbourhood.
On a cul-de-sac, for instance, snow is intended to be collected in the bulb area. On Landsbury, for example, a hammerhead section of the street provides passage for snow clearing equipment to access a greenspace designated by the developer for snow storage.
Snow-Clearing Efforts
According to Dyck, council’s snow-clearing bylaws reflect their desire to clear snow in a way that allows for vehicles to pass through as quickly and efficiently as possible. The method of snow-clearing clearing should also demonstrate financial responsibility of taxpayer dollars.
In years past, Dyck says that the town experimented with nighttime clearing in an attempt to provide the least inconvenience for drivers. Unfortunately, complaints were received regarding the noise created by snow-clearing equipment. Now the earliest start is around 5:00 a.m.
There may have also been a time when vehicles left on the street during a snow ban would not have been towed. Instead the grader would simply grade a path around it.
But if the priority is to create safe passage for vehicles, it could be argued that the parked vehicle and resulting windrow narrows the street to such an extent that it creates a single lane for traffic going both ways, providing greater opportunity for accidents.
Winnipeg’s Policies
As much as possible, the city of Winnipeg performs their snow clearing during the nighttime hours. There, designated snow routes are subject to a parking ban from November to April between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
The city provides an app, called Know Your Zone, which residents can download. Alternatively, the snow map can also be viewed online. Residents can call 311 to inquire about snow routes and snow-clearing.
Residents do have to be somewhat proactive in order to stay in the know. In Winnipeg, too, you risk a ticket and a tow if you don’t stay abreast of what’s happening.
Residential streets there are not guaranteed to be cleared as often as main arterial streets. Here, snow-clearing could take place during a day shift or night shift and residents are required to find alternative parking spots for their vehicles during that time.
New in 2023, the city has implemented a temporary suspension of snow route parking bans during the duration of a residential street parking ban. This means that residents can move their parked vehicles to a spot on a designated snow route while their street is being cleared, but only if the snow-clearing takes place during overnight hours.
It should be noted that residential streets in Winnipeg take third priority. In the event of a major snowfall that requires residential streets to be cleared, it could take days before ploughs hit those streets.
From that point, the city’s bylaws allow for an additional five days for cleanup efforts to take place.
Of course, in a town the size of Niverville, it’s a rare event for any street to remain covered in snow more than a few days.
Could Council Do Better?
While she prefers to remain anonymous, one Sheffield Way resident says that she only became aware that her street was a designated snow route when her neighbours asked for the use of her driveway for extra parking when their kids came to visit.
Later, she discovered that a neighbour received a ticket for parking on the street during parking ban hours.
“It is quite possibly that it’s just my bad for not knowing, but I’m on social media and not too bad with technology, and I simply don’t recall anything being sent about it,” she says. “I understand snow routes, but there is no reason to ban parking on the street 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week. There has to be an app or something that can notify people when the ban is on. I’m not wanting to ask my neighbours if my kids can park there when they come for Christmas dinner. I don’t need to park on the street, but my kids sure do when they come to visit.”
The resident says that she only has room for two small mid-sized vehicles on her driveway. Many young families living on her street have multiple vehicles and regularly use the street for parking.
She’d like to see the town implement an app, similar to Winnipeg’s, to make it less likely that residents will miss last-minute parking bans and risk a ticket and tow.
“I know not everyone has a cell phone, but even my 81-year-old dad has one, so I think that could work,” she says. “I think there are plenty of resources from other towns and cities that [council could research to] find a better option.”
Indeed, the RM of Ritchot has just such an app. It’s called Ritchot Connect, and it is used to connect with residents anytime about announcements that need to be quickly relayed. Once downloaded, it allows residents to choose their preferred method of notification. They can be contacted by email, text message, phone call, or a combination.
