St. James resident fumes over icy, bumpy streets after parking bans ignored

Kristen Walterson woke up early on Dec. 21 to move her car before crews started clearing streets in her St. James neighbourhood.

The residential parking ban was in effect between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and she didn’t want to get ticketed.

A few hours later, she peeked out her living room window only to see multiple cars hadn’t been moved and the plows had left snow piles around the parked vehicles.

“And so then when (drivers) go to move their vehicle, it makes little tire marks through it, and the snow is all over the place, and now you’ve got these ruts, and then it freezes that way,” Walterson said.

“There’s absolutely no reason for (cars) to be on the street still.”

The city’s no-tow policy during snow-clearing operations isn’t sitting well with some Winnipeggers who are left with hills on their streets where a parking spot should be.

The city stopped offering “courtesy tows” — moving vehicles parked in violation of snow-clearing operations during parking bans; the vehicles could still be ticketed but the owners wouldn’t be charged for the tow — in 2022 due to the cost and a lack of evidence the measure improves compliance, city spokesperson Adam Campbell said.

There were 2,498 courtesy tows during the December 2022 residential parking ban, according to city data. The most recent residential parking ban was in December 2025.

The city issued 5,546 tickets during residential parking ban hours Dec. 21-23 in the aftermath of a blizzard that walloped southern Manitoba. It was a significant increase from a similar cleanup period in December 2024, when 3,631 vehicles were ticketed, according to the city’s data.

Vehicle owners who ignore the parking ban can be fined $200 and towed if their vehicle presents a hazard to snow-clearing operations.

When a residential parking ban is in place, the city lifts its annual winter route parking ban to give residents options while their streets are being cleared.

Walterson says the city should tow every vehicle in violation of the bans.

The ruts present issues for cars trying to park on the street and residents with mobility issues who need to climb over the snow piles to get into their vehicles, she said.

“We need the street cleared. And if you just ticket (a car), it’s still there,” she said. “The streets have ruts and all these bumpity-bumps all over the place, it’s ridiculous.”

Since Dec. 3, when the annual winter route parking ban began, the city issued 3,441 tickets and tow orders. Vehicle owners are responsible for the cost of the tow.

The city received more than 500 requests for snow removal since the first big dump of the season on Dec. 18, Campbell said.

Public Works committee chairwoman Coun. Janice Lukes said it might be time to increase the fines for snow-zone scofflaws.

Courtesy towing isn’t the answer, because the city spent nearly $1 million to move vehicles in 2022 and it didn’t seem to address the issue, Lukes (Waverley West) said, adding parking-bans information is blasted across billboards, TV, radio and social media to warn vehicle owners,

“There is a percentage of people that just won’t move their vehicles…. We can message all we want, but maybe we have to increase the ticket prices,” she said.

There were 2,498 courtesy tows during the last residential parking ban in December 2022, according to city data.

The city budgeted about $50 million for snow clearing this year. Money collected from tickets goes back into public works operations.

The Winnipeg Parking Authority had between 20 and 22 officers out per shift during December’s last residential parking ban, issuing tickets manually and by mail using its automated licence plate recognition. During the annual winter route parking ban, there are between seven and nine enforcement vehicles out each night.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca