We made it through another winter event, Ottawa! It came in fast and furious and the bulk of it happened while most of us were sleeping. You know who wasn’t sleeping? The Roads and Parking Services team! With almost 10 centimetres blanketing the city, they were hard at work making sure sidewalks, roads and the winter cycling network were ready for us when we woke up this morning, so we could carry on with our weekend activities.
Forecast and conditions
Cloudy conditions are expected today, with a chance of flurries throughout the day. Winds from the southwest at 30 kilometres per hour gusting to 50 are expected, causing blowing and drifting snow in open areas. The daytime high is forecast to be plus one, with a wind chill of minus 10 this afternoon. Cold temperatures return overnight, with a low of minus 11 and a wind chill of minus 19.
Our response
Supervisors will continue to monitor the conditions of the transportation network throughout the day. The team has been working nonstop all night, and the dayshift has picked up right where the nightshift left off. Crews will continue work on sidewalks, priority roads and winter cycling network throughout the day. Work began this morning in residential neighbourhoods to clear and treat streets and will continue into the evening. The night shift will be back in tonight and work overnight to clean up the transportation network and any problem areas such as bus stops, crosswalks, intersections, pedestrian islands, corners and cul de sacs.
In the rural areas, blowing snow has been challenging and slowed operations down, but rest assured, the team is hard at work and will continue through the day and overnight.
A daytime parking ban is in effect
A Winter Weather Parking Ban is in effect until 7 pm tonight. When vehicles are removed from our streets, the Roads and Parking Services team can clear snow efficiently to create a wide-open roadway.
During this time, all vehicles must be removed from the roadway - unless you have an eligible parking permit or are accessing parking in our exempted commercial main streets. Though eligible parking permit holders are exempt, we encourage those who can, please try to find alternate parking during this time to prevent your vehicle from being snowed in. The City of Ottawa has several parking lots available for residents to park during a parking ban. Vehicles may remain parked at these sites for the duration of the ban and must be removed after the City announces that the ban has been lifted. Information on all parking options during a winter weather parking ban is available on Ottawa.ca/winterparking.
Residents can stay in the know about our winter weather parking bans by signing up for e-alerts(link is external) at Ottawa.ca, or by downloading the City of Ottawa app.
Next steps
Roads and Parking Services will continue to monitor the transportation network over the next 24 hours and will deploy resources as needed to ensure the transportation network is in good condition for the morning commute.
As the system as moved out of the region and the forecast is stable, this will serve as the final operational update for this winter event.
Thank you for your continued support and travel with care today.
