Remember the winter of 2022/2023? It felt like Mother Nature had a standing weekend appointment with the City of Ottawa—storm after storm, without fail! Now, with a second weather event on the heels of the first, you might be wondering: is the same pattern being established? Only time will tell. One thing you can count on, though: weekend or not, Roads and Parking Services is always ready to roll into action!
Forecast and conditions
Environment Canada has issued a Freezing Rain Warning for the Ottawa region. Conditions will become cloudy on Saturday morning with rain showers and freezing rain expected to start in the afternoon. With the temperature forecasted to hover near or below the freezing mark, rain mixed with freezing rain is expected to last through the evening with 2 to 5 millimetres of ice accretion possible.
Given the ground and road surface temperatures are still relatively warm, ice accretion is expected to be variable across the region. Precipitation is expected to transition to rain showers or flurries and end Sunday morning as temperatures rise above zero.
This is the first freezing rain event of the season, and residents are reminded to exercise caution while using all our transportation networks.
Our response
The Roads and Parking services team is ready to respond! The equipment is prepared, the salt domes have been filled, and when the freezing rain begins, crews will be working on treating sidewalks, roads, bus routes, the Transitway and the winter cycling network. Parks Maintenance will also be out treating icy conditions at emergency service stations, libraries and community centers as well as some City facility parking lots. As it is early in the season and only our second deployment, we are asking for your patience as operations will take longer than normal as staff get used to their newly assigned routes and adjust to the variable weather conditions.
Seasonal closure - Chief William Commanda Bridge
This is a reminder that the bridge is closed for the 2025/2026 winter season as it is unsafe for public use. To ensure the safety of residents, new gates have been installed to prevent access to the bridge, as well as signage identifying the closure. City staff will monitor weather patterns and will use the gates to open and/or close the bridge during the spring and fall seasons, as required.
Next steps
The Roads and Parking Services team will continue to monitor this system and the transportation network over the weekend, and crews will be deployed as required.
