Posted:
Thursday, March 19, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – Crews are reporting significant progress in clearing and widening the streets across the Halifax region, due largely in part to the exceptional cooperation of residents to find off-street parking over the past 24 hours.
To assist with the ongoing cleanup, the municipality, in cooperation with Halifax Regional Police and Halifax RCMP, will continue to fully enforce Section 139 of the Motor Vehicle Act until further notice.
That section prevents on-street parking any time, day or night, when snow clearing is underway. Under more typical circumstances, crews can often work around parked vehicles; however, the volume of snow that fell across the region this week has significantly escalated the problems caused by parked vehicles hampering clearing efforts and access for emergency vehicles.
Police have been working with clearing crews and doing proactive patrols to help prevent people from parking on the street, as well as ticketing and towing any vehicles that are already on the streets hampering snow removal.
Crews are extremely grateful for the police support to ensure the streets are clear of parked cars before their equipment moves in. This coordinated effort has saved time and increased productivity for crews working on snow removal and hauling.
The municipality has also had a very positive response from the community to provide options for residents who require off-street parking.
Last evening the Canadian Forces opted to close their military bases in Halifax and offered free parking today at the Dockyard off Upper Water Street and at Windsor Park, near the Military Family Resource Centre. This was for today only as the base will re-open on Friday, March 20.
Starting this evening, Waterfront Development is offering free overnight parking in its six lots on Lower Water Street. This parking will be available nightly from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. until the morning of Monday, March 23. Crombie REIT is offering some free parking at the Scotia Parkade and reduced parking rates for people attending Halifax Mooseheads and Halifax Rainmen games tonight and this weekend.
Finally, the municipality is also offering free parking at its MetroPark lot on Hollis Street for as long as we continue to fully enforce Section 139 of the MVA.
We would once again like to thank residents for their continued cooperation throughout this trying time. Your support and patience are greatly appreciated.
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