Snow clearing of Edmonton residential roads to begin January 12; Phase 2 parking ban could last 14 days

A snow-clearing operation of Edmonton’s residential roads, which have yet to be plowed this winter despite heavy snowfall, will kick off Monday.

The city will bring in a Phase 2 parking ban in order to clear the snow. It will begin Monday at 7 a.m. and could last up to 14 days, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack revealed in a social media post Wednesday.

Knack says crews will work to clear the residential roads for approximately 72 hours in each neighbourhood.

“Please remove vehicles when signage is posted to help crews work efficiently and stay on schedule,” the mayor wrote.

The ban will be paused on weekends from Friday at 7 p.m. to Monday at 7 a.m.

Despite more than half a metre of snow piling up, residential neighbourhoods have remained blanketed in snow this winter.

When it comes to clearing snow in Alberta’s capital, major roads and business areas are prioritized first. Unless it has a bus route, residential neighbourhood roads are cleared last.

READ: Edmontonians frustrated with delays in residential snow clearing after record snowfall

The City of Edmonton explains several back-to-back snowfalls — with the latest on New Year’s Day into Jan. 2 — is the reason crews have not yet made their way to residential roads.

“It’s not just the amount of snowfalls we had, it was the amount of snow that fell during those events,” said Val Dacyk, the general supervisor of Edmonton’s snow and ice control program, at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “So although it has been five days at this point since the last weather event, which was about seven to 10 centimetres, it also rained and got quite warm directly after, creating a lot of ice.

“So as these weather events happen, whether it’s snow or rain, all of those pile on top of each other, increasing the amount of time it takes for snow and ice crews to remove that from the roadways.”

There are more than 12,000 kilometres of roads and 500 active pathways, including bike lanes, in Edmonton.

The base budget for city snow removal has remained about the same for the last three years, despite inflation and an influx of both new homes and people.