Edmonton Snow Clearing, Parking Bans and Winter Parking Rules

The roadway priority system

The City’s snow and ice control procedure ranks roadways into priorities. Priority 1 covers main freeways, major arterial roads and the downtown business districts, along with alleys and back lanes in business districts. Priority 2 covers remaining freeways, secondary arterial roads, collector roads, transit routes and Park and Ride access. Priority 3 covers industrial hubs and rural roadways, and Priority 4 is residential roads and back lanes.

The higher priorities are maintained to a bare pavement standard. Residential roads are not. The City maintains them to a level snowpack and blades them in cycles, because leaving a packed base reduces the size of windrows and the flooding that follows a thaw.

Residential blading, and why it needs a parking ban

Widespread clearing of residential roads begins only once the snowpack on the roadway passes the depth the City uses as its trigger, and only when temperatures are below zero so that the pack is frozen. Blading levels the driving lane and removes ruts; it does not strip a residential street back to asphalt.

Blading leaves windrows, the ridges of snow along the kerb and the pile that ends up across the end of a driveway. The City does not remove windrows along standard residential roadways, but it does clear windrows at driveways that meet its height threshold, and it will clear windrows that spill over and block sidewalks when they are reported. Cul-de-sacs are cleared separately from regular residential blading because they need smaller equipment.

The two phases of parking bans

A Major Roadways (Phase 1) ban covers arterial roads, collector roads, roads in business improvement areas and bus routes, including bus routes that pass through residential neighbourhoods. It applies city-wide and around the clock for the duration of the clearing operation, and it is marked by white seasonal no-parking signs.

A Residential (Phase 2) ban covers residential and industrial areas, but it applies neighbourhood by neighbourhood rather than everywhere at once. Each neighbourhood is scheduled for clearing and given advance notice, with yellow no-parking signs placed at the main entrances to the neighbourhood before work begins. Parking may resume once the clearing map shows the roadway has been completed, and because ploughs may make several passes, the City asks residents not to park again until the area is confirmed complete.

Not every snow event produces a ban, and not every ban includes a residential phase. A Phase 1 ban is not automatically followed by a Phase 2 ban.

How bans are announced, and how to check the status

The City provides notice before enforcement of a ban begins, and residents can subscribe to Service Notifications to receive parking ban notices tied to their own location. The live tools are the roadways snow clearing map, which shows the clearing status of each roadway during and after a snow event, the residential snow clearing schedule, which shows when a given residential street is scheduled to be cleared during a Phase 2 ban, and the active pathways map for sidewalks, trails and the bike network.

• Subscribe to Service Notifications for parking ban notices for your address.
• Use the roadways snow clearing map to see whether your road has been completed and whether parking may resume.
• Use the residential snow clearing schedule to find your neighbourhood’s clearing window.
• Watch for white seasonal no-parking signs for Phase 1 and yellow no-parking signs for Phase 2.

What happens if you ignore a ban

Vehicles left on a roadway during a parking ban may be ticketed under the Traffic Bylaw, and the City publishes the current fine alongside its parking ban information. The same bylaw prohibits leaving a vehicle parked in one spot beyond the maximum period, which catches residents who leave a rarely used car on the street. Objects left in the public right-of-way during clearing, such as unattached trailers, temporary curb ramps, dumpsters and other portable structures, can obstruct heavy equipment and may themselves attract a fine.

There are some allowances. Vehicles displaying a valid accessible parking placard in an accessible space are not subject to the ban. During a Phase 1 ban, residents may continue to park on residential roads that do not carry white seasonal no-parking signs; during a Phase 2 ban, they may use roads that have already been cleared. Parking on lawns or front yards is not an alternative, because the Zoning Bylaw prohibits parking on the landscaped portion of a residential yard.

Sidewalks, sand and your own frontage

Property owners are responsible for keeping the sidewalk adjacent to their property clear of snow and ice. The Community Standards Bylaw requires it and does not set a timeframe, so the standard is prompt removal rather than a deadline. The City clears sidewalks around public schools, bus stops and City facilities, but it does not have the resources to clear most residential or commercial sidewalks.

The expectation is that snow and ice are cleared to the pavement across the full width and length of the sidewalk, with sand, gravel or ice melt acceptable only as a temporary measure. Free sand is available from community sandboxes and roadway maintenance yards. It is illegal to pile snow onto public property, including roads and boulevards, and snow that cannot be stored on your own property can be taken to a City snow storage facility.

Reporting works. If a sidewalk, trail or road is impassable, contact 311, which also handles requests for a snow clearing review and reports of windrows blocking sidewalks, driveways or crosswalks.