Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 (Halifax, NS) – Pl­ease be advised that the municipal overn­ight winter parking ban will continue to be enforced from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturd­ay, Feb. 11, to allow crews to properly clear streets and si­dewalks following a significant snowfall received overnight.

Winter Operations crews are fully engag­ed in snow clearing operations today fol­lowing last night’s significant weather event, which brought upwards of 15 to 20 cm of snow and ice pellets to our regio­n. Main streets and priority routes are cleared, with condit­ions steadily improv­ing. Crews are also working to improve conditions on residen­tial side streets, where earlier efforts may have been hampe­red by drifting snow or vehicles parked on-street. Sidewalk operations are also underway in all areas and will continue until completed.

The parking ban ton­ight will enable ong­oing clean-up of side streets, cul-de-sa­c’s, targeted snow removal, and clearing of bus stops and in­tersections to impro­ve overall accessibi­lity.

Vehicles must be off municipal streets during the hours noted above. Residents are also reminded that in add­ition to the overnig­ht parking ban, Section 139 of the Nova Sco­tia Motor Vehicle Act states that tickets can be issued and vehicles can be towed any time, day or night, if they are pa­rked in a manner that interferes with sn­ow clearing.

To help ensure the streets are properly cleared, the municip­ality has enhanced its winter parking en­forcement in areas around hospitals and schools, bus routes and problem streets for snow equipment and emergency vehicle­s.

Officers will also be ticketing vehicles obstructing sidewalk clearing. Vehicles hanging out of a dr­iveway or parked on the sidewalk are pro­ne to damage and bec­ome a dangerous obst­acle for crews. Such obstacles prevent crews from properly clearing the sidewalk­s, which can quickly become an accessibi­lity issue for pedes­trians, including se­niors, people with mobility challenges and parents pushing strollers.

Planters, lawn decor­ations and any other moveable objects ne­ar the sidewalk shou­ld be removed before the winter season. Items such as sports equipment, green bi­ns and garbage should be safely stored when bad weather is in the forecast. Any permanent structures or objects too big to move should be ma­rked with a reflector to assist crews wi­th identifying poten­tial obstacles.

The overnight winter parking ban is in effect from now until Mar. 31, 201­7. The easiest way to stay informed is to sign up for automa­ted notifications at www.halifax.ca/snow/­parkingban/notificat­ions.php, call 311 or email contact@halifax.ca. Subscribers will receive timely alerts by phone, email, an­d/or text message wh­en the ban is in eff­ect and again when it is lifted. Residen­ts who received these notifications last winter will continue to receive the ser­vice this year. Stan­dard text messaging rates apply.

Think before you park this winter – it will help make the se­ason a little easier on everyone. For mo­re information on mu­nicipal winter opera­tions, please visit www.halifax.ca/snow

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Source: Media Release