Posted:
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – Please be advised that the municipal overnight winter parking ban will be enforced from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, to facilitate the ongoing cleanup of streets and sidewalks after yesterday’s winter storm.
Most areas of the Halifax region received about 25 centimetres of snow. Crews are continuing to clear main arterial routes and have plowed single lanes on about 75 per cent of the residential side streets. They will be back to widen those routes once all the Priority 1 streets are complete.
With rain in the forecast for Thursday morning, it’s important that all streets are cleared and widened to open up catch basins for drainage. Having vehicles off the streets makes it much easier for operators to clear safely and efficiently.
Residents should be aware that under section 139 of the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act, 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 is stepping up winter parking enforcement this season 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 clearing the sidewalks properly, which can quickly become an accessibility issue for pedestrians, including seniors, people with mobility issues and parents pushing strollers.
The overnight winter parking ban is in effect from now until March 31, 2016. The easiest way to stay informed is to sign up for notifications at http://www.halifax.ca/snow/parkingban/notifications.php, call 311 or email contactus@311.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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