Day 2: City won’t meet snow clearing targets as storm continues

Article content

The capital region has reached the halfway point of the biggest storm of the season.

But Environment Canada cautions the worst could be yet to come.

In an updated winter storm warning issued shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, the weather forecasting agency advises Ottawa residents to expect snowfall accumulations of 20 to 30 cm, with peak snowfall rates of three to five cm an hour, along with reduced visibility in heavy snow and blowing snow.

Article content

The heaviest snow had been expected Sunday morning and afternoon, ending this evening. Travel will be hazardous and is not recommended due to accumulating snow and near-zero visibility at times.

The city said crews have been out clearing snow, but the snow so far “was just the start.”

“We know operations will be slow going today and residents are reminded to be patient and understand it will be challenging to get around the city during this event and beyond,” said Jake Gravelle, area manager for the City of Ottawa.

Despite the slick road conditions, there have been no major collisions reported.

The storm affected flights in and out of Ottawa International Airport, with more than half the early departures and arrivals marked as cancelled. Again, travellers should check ahead.

The city’s Office of Emergency Management is in a state of “monitoring” and ready to co-ordinate a citywide response if deemed necessary, said Gravelle. Given the extent of the impacts of this second storm and to increase co-ordination of efforts across all service areas, the public works department has activated its emergency command centre, he said.

Article content

Article content

“Supervisors will be monitoring the conditions of the transportation network throughout the day, into the evening and overnight,” said Gravelle.

“All resources have been deployed. Crews will continue to treat sidewalks, arterial roads, and the winter cycling network. The team will move into residential neighbourhoods this morning and will continue through the afternoon to treat and clear streets.”

The night shift will pick up where the day shift left off and work their way through the entire transportation network again, said Gravelle.

“Our sidewalk crews are out in full force and the team has switched to blowers to deal with high accumulation amounts and blowing snow,” he said.

“The use of blowers also requires a second pass to scrape the sidewalk clean after the blower has been through. As a result, it takes more time to clear the sidewalk network to the standard we typically maintain.”

The city knows its crews will not be meeting winter maintenance timeline objectives and anticipates that multiple passes will be required to clear and treat conditions on the transportation network, said Gravelle.

Article content

“Given the snowfall rate and the significant blowing and drifting snow, once a plow has passed, it will very quickly look like it hasn’t been there, but rest assured, crews are out in full force.”

Meanwhile, an extended weather parking ban will remain in effect.

“The extension to the standard winter weather parking ban is essential for the support of our operations,” said Gravelle.

“We will be monitoring the forecast and the conditions of the transportation network and will provide an update on when the parking ban will be lifted as this weather system tapers off this evening.”

While the ban is in effect, all vehicles must be removed from the roadway unless the owner has an eligible parking permit or is accessing parking on exempted commercial main streets.

Though eligible parking permit holders are exempt, the city is encouraging those who can to find alternative parking. The City of Ottawa has several parking lots available for residents to park during a parking ban. Vehicles may remain parked at these sites for the duration of the ban and must be removed after the city announces that the ban has been lifted.

Article content

Information on all parking options during a winter weather parking ban is available at Ottawa.ca/winterparking.

Residents can stay in the know about winter weather parking bans by signing up for e-alerts at Ottawa.ca.

Ottawa residents are asked to step aside into an open driveway if a sidewalk plow is approaching and to stay three car lengths behind city vehicles. Never pass a city vehicle.

Residents were also asked to avoid shovelling snow onto the roadway, bike lanes, sidewalks, pathways and parks as it slows down snow-clearing operations, and to ensure that children are not playing on snowbanks along the road when snowplows are working.

There is no need to create a service request for routine snow clearing as service requests should only be created for emergencies, said the city.

In an update, OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar said O-Train Line 1 operations started Sunday as scheduled, but for a short period, service operated on one track between Bayview and Lyon stations.

As of Sunday afternoon, Line 1 operation was running on full alignment.

Lines 2 and 4 do not operate on Sundays. Parallel bus service continues to be in place, and TransitNext is using specialized equipment to clear snow across the line to prepare for the start of operations on Monday.

Article content

Buses are operated as intended, but delays are to be expected due to weather conditions. OC Transpo was removing as many articulated buses as possible from service on Sunday, said Amilcar.

The “severe storm schedule” for buses has not been implemented as it is only used on weekdays.

Para Transpo service was operating with few delays and OC Transpo was reaching out to customers about the status of their intended trips.

But Amilcar warned that, with more challenging weather expected  Sunday afternoon, it is important for transit users to be patient and give themselves extra time for trips.

The City of Gatineau enacted on-street parking bans between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Monday and from midnight to 6 a.m. on Monday.

The Ontario Provincial Police have already urged people to cancel any “non-essential travel plans” this weekend.

“If you do have to be on the roads, adjust your driving. Slow down, leave extra distance and ensure you clear snow from your entire vehicle,” police said on X, formerly Twitter.

The forecast for Monday is mainly cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of snow and a high of -9 C.

Tuesday’s forecast is mainly cloudy, with a high of -10 C.

Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.

Article content