After enough snow builds up on a residential street, we may need to clear it. When this happens, we will declare a residential parking ban.
"By restricting parking on the residential street, crews are able to more effectively clear the snow because there are no vehicles to maneuver around," said Michael Cantor, Manager of Streets Maintenance.
There are a few things you should be aware of when a Residential Parking Ban is declared.
Know Your Zone
Our residential streets are divided into zones named after letters in the alphabet. We group zones together and then schedule clearing in 12-hour windows.
It's important you know what zone you live in, work in, or are visiting.
You can find out what zone you live in by:
- Visiting our website
- Downloading the Know Your Zone app
- By contacting 311
You should confirm your zone every winter as it’s possible some letters could change.
Know Your Zone app
The Know Your Zone mobile app gives Winnipeggers easy access for up-to-date information about the snow clearing operation.
The app shows you the snow zone associated to your location as well as the snow clearing schedule and colour-coded maps.
If you save your addresses as favourites within the app, you can receive push notification when a Residential Parking Ban is declared for those locations.
You can also find out if a ban has been called and the plowing schedule by:
- Visiting our website
- Contacting 311
- Signing up for email notifications
- Following us on social media
Where to park
When a residential parking ban is in place, parking is restricted on residential streets for a 12-hour window. You will need to find alternate parking arrangements during this time.
We will also suspend the annual winter route parking ban during the residential parking ban. This means you’ll be allowed to park your car overnight on winter routes where that would regularly be prohibited
Make sure your vehicles, equipment, or other obstructions are at least nine feet (three metres) from the edge of your driveway to allow our equipment to clear any windrows.
Vehicles parked in violation of the residential parking ban may receive a $200 ticket. The ticket is reduced to $150 if paid early.
If your street wasn’t cleared
If your residential street wasn’t cleared, please wait until the 12-hour window for your zone has passed before contacting 311 to report it. The easiest option to report a missed street is by completing our online form.
It’s possible your snow zone may need to be scheduled for more than a single 12-hour shift. This could happen when snow clearing is delayed due to heavy buildup of snow and ice or when we plow during extreme cold temperatures.
Please be careful
We use more than 300 large pieces of equipment to clear our streets during the winter. Slow down when driving near the trucks and heavy equipment, and give them plenty of space. Always drive to the conditions.
Our City, Our Podcast
Michael Cantor, Manager of Streets Maintenance, chats about snow clearing, filling potholes, and more on Our City, Our Podcast. This episode was released in November, 2024.