The City of Winnipeg has issued more than 10,000 tickets to drivers that have violated the snow route parking ban this season.
Between Dec. 1 and March 1, drivers cannot park a vehicle on a snow route between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. Over the three days the Declared Snow Route Parking ban was brought back in effect this week, a city spokesperson said 615 tickets were handed out and 52 vehicles towed.
CTV News has analyzed the violations which occurred between December 1st and January 28.
According City of Winnipeg data, these were the top 10 streets hit by the snow route parking ban:
- William Ave - 386
- River Ave - 365
- Corydon Ave - 215
- Edmonton St - 212
- Stradbrook Ave - 202
- Tache Ave - 201
- Bannatyne Ave - 178
- Hargrave St - 175
- Wolseley Ave - 175
- Notre Dame Ave - 172
Jorge Lopez lives on River Ave in Osborne Village. While he loves his location, his apartment only has one parking spot. Overnight during the winter months, he violates the snow route ban and parks on the street.
“There’s nowhere to park. It’s getting ridiculous here,” Lopez said, having paid a $50 parking ticket a few weeks ago for parking on the street outside where he lives.
“We didn’t have a lot of snow this winter so we’re not allowed to park. Even if there’s no snow,” Lopez said.
Colin Stewart, a policy analyst with the Winnipeg Parking Authority points out that snow routes exist to clear the way for transit and emergency vehicles.
“There’s a common misconception that it’s for clearing snow that’s already there. It’s to allow the deployment of, whether it be sanding trucks or truck plows, if there’s a quick snowfall,” Stewart said.
Stewart said of the 386 tickets handed out to drivers on William Ave, most vehicles were ticketed near Health Sciences Centre.
Sergia Carvalho is a florist who lives and works along that stretch. She disagrees with the city’s approach.
“There should be more consideration for people who go to the hospital, especially emergency,” Carvalho said.
Stewart sees things differently. “Which would you rather have? A car parked there and an ambulance not be able to get into the emergency department,” Stewart said, “Or someone get a ticket and the ambulance able to get to the emergency department?”
Fines for failing to follow the snow route and declared snow route parking ban are $50 if paid within the first 15 days after the ticket is issued and $100 is paid 16 days after the ticket is issued.
Fines for failing to follow the residential parking ban are $75 if paid within 15 days after issuing ticket and $150 if paid 16 days after date of issue.
