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Cars parked on streets slowing snow-clearing crews

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 01/16/2013 1:43 PM | Comments: 0

(TREVOR HAGAN/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS )

Some Winnipeg residents are upset the city hasn't towed vehicles that are in the way of snow plows.

This afternoon, Winnipeg officials urged residents to move their cars as vehicles parked in the streets have delayed the plowing operation.

City of Winnipeg officials said the residential plowing operation is half done, but parked cars in some parts of the city are slowing down snow-clearing crews. If a portion of a zone has not been cleared as scheduled, plows will return once the rest of the snow-clearing operation has been completed.

The city implemented its new snow zone program in November, and initially waived the fee for citizens who were ticketed for not moving their vehicles during the snowstorm clean-up. This time around, Wininipeg pledged to ticket vehicles in violation of the residential parking ban and potentially tow them to a compound.

David Spigelman said he made special arrangments to move his car prior to the 12-hour residential parking ban on Tuesday. However, he said there were at least a dozen vehicles parked on Powers Street which were not towed or ticketed.

He said plows cleared half of his street, and left a ring of snow around remaining vehicles on the road.

"They just made mini snowbanks in the middle of the street behind cars which reduces our parking," Spigelman said.

Winnipeg Parking Authority staff need to ticket vehicles before they are towed.

Spigelman said it would make more sense for plows to alert tow trucks to vehicles in violation, so snow-clearing can be finished faster.

North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty said the city also needs to find a better way to manage plowing when it conflicts with a neighbourhood's garbage and recycling pickup. Browaty said the window for plowing a large number of residential streets is small, and people are confused about whether or not to put out their automated carts.

"I've asked the department to clarify what happens around garbage days in relation to placing carts and residential plows," he said.

City crews will continue working to try and finish clearing most of the residential streets by Thursday evening. Plows will work to clear streets in snow zone D between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. tonight, and streets in snow zone C between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday.

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