Snow route parking ban takes effect after record snowfall
Crews to start clearing roads 10 a.m. Saturday
Calgary's snow route parking ban goes into effect for the second time this week on Saturday.
Crews will start clearing some of the 20-30 centimetres of snow that fell between Wednesday and Thursday from the routes at 10 a.m.
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That means no parking on any roads with a blue sign marked with a white snowflake.
"They are signed at the beginning and the end of each route. So there might be quite a distance in between some of the parking ban signs which is why it's important to go to Calgary.ca and look up the road that you might want to park on," roads department spokesperson Tara Norton-Merrin said.
Thursday saw 13.2 centimetres of snow, according to Environment Canada. Self-described weather historian Rolf Campbell tweeted that Calgary hadn't seen that much snow on a Feb. 8 in 130 years, and it was the snowiest February day in 12 years.
He also noted that with 31 centimetres on the ground, it was the deepest snow Calgary's seen since March 18, 1998.
With 13.2㎝ of snow, yesterday was <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Calgary?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Calgary</a>'s snowiest Feb 8th in 130 years, since Feb 8th, 1888. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YycWx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YycWx</a> <a href="https://t.co/uDM4Qj2he8">pic.twitter.com/uDM4Qj2he8</a>
—@YYC_WeatherThe parking ban can last for as long as 72 hours, but may also be lifted sooner if roads are cleared sooner.
It includes Priority 1 roads, that see 20,000 or more vehicles a day, like Crowchild Trail, as well as Priority 2 routes, which see between 5,000 and 19,999 vehicles per day, like Acadia Drive.
Afternoon update: Crews are working on Priority 1 routes but some remain snow-covered and slippery. Watch for plows and drive to winter conditions. Check the snow route map to see parking restrictions in place this weekend: <a href="https://t.co/aHyTH05hSk">https://t.co/aHyTH05hSk</a> <a href="https://t.co/bPDFc1HsZb">pic.twitter.com/bPDFc1HsZb</a>
—@cityofcalgary"We do ask that even if a plow has come down that you do not park on a snow route until the parking ban has been officially lifted and that's because crews might take a second pass on that road to clear the snow even further."
Parking is allowed during the day on some of the routes that go through shopping areas, like Marda Loop and Kensington. Those routes are cleared overnight, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Accessible parking zones are also exempt from the ban.
Do you know the difference between these signs? Snow routes in Business Improvement Areas (BIA) & downtown are exempt from the parking ban 6am to 9pm, so you can still park during the day. A snow route parking ban comes into effect at 10am tomorrow morning <a href="https://t.co/cEYXygzCOp">pic.twitter.com/cEYXygzCOp</a>
—@yyctransportWith files from Elizabeth Snaddon