Winter parking bans in Ottawa: where the cars go, and what that does to your driveway clearing

How a ban gets called

Between 15 November and 1 April, the City can declare a Winter Weather Parking Ban for freezing rain, or when Environment Canada forecasts 7 cm or more, or a range that includes 7 cm. Outside a Significant Weather Event, it aims to call an overnight ban by 9 am, running 7 pm to 7 am, and a daytime ban by 3:30 pm, running 10 am to 7 pm. A ban stays on until the City lifts it.

So a morning call warns of a night when every car without a permit leaves the street.

Ban night on a residential street

The ban clears the curbs so crews can plow easily. Cars without a residential permit left on the street may be fined and towed. Arterials and the Transitway get plows as soon as snow builds up; residential roads wait for 7 cm, with 10 to 16 hours allowed after the last snowflake.

One Kanata and Stittsville firm’s terms allow it to clear at any time of the day or night. So a crew can reach your driveway while the ban is still on and the street’s cars sit on the asphalt. Crew timing is covered in the early-morning clearing guide.

When the driveway fills up

On a ban night the street cars join the driveway cars. Firms plan for it:

• Clear around the cars. Both firms whose terms we read clear the accessible part only, the strip that opens onto the street.
• Second visit on request. The Orléans firm’s call-back opens once its rounds are done, usually the day after the storm, for a three-hour window when the driveway will be empty. Its terms ask for the booking by 11 a.m. the next day.
• Short notice. The Kanata firm returns to the parked spot only when a full second pass is planned, and only if you move the car no later than one hour after its second-pass email and tell it so.
• Extra trips. The same terms say work that cannot be done in regular snow removal hours may carry an additional charge, for example a one-off cleaning after a car is moved on return from vacation.

Permits, temporary signs and snowbank removal

A residential parking permit exempts the car from the ban while it is parked in its permit zone. Where the signs read Permit Holders Exempted, a permit car can stay up to 48 hours without moving. The exemption ends when the City puts up temporary no-parking signs.

Those signs go up before snowbank removal, the work between storms that shrinks or hauls away street banks blocking sightlines or travel lanes. The ban then covers every car, permit or not. Cars left behind are fined and towed to a nearby street; the City’s number for a towed car is 3-1-1. The City also says residents are responsible for the snowbanks along their private driveway. A company can quote hauling it away; see snow hauling.

City fines that touch the driveway end

The City’s fines list shows each charge twice: the amount if paid within 15 days, then the set fine. Three rows matter on a snow day:

• Interfering with snow or ice removal, or with clearing of snow: $105, set fine $125.
• Parking in front of a driveway: $65, set fine $85.
• Parking on a driveway within 0.5 m of the sidewalk: $60, set fine $80.

The by-law extract also bars parking on any street during snow removal, signed or unsigned, and stopping on or over a sidewalk.

What to settle with the company before the first ban

Ask before you sign:

• How many cars the price assumes, and what happens when the driveway is full on a ban night.
• Whether call-backs are included, how you book one and the deadline.
• Whether your street type changes the price. The Kanata firm’s terms price main, bus and sidewalk streets higher because keeping those driveway ends clear takes more work; the Orléans firm adds $100 + HST on busy main streets.
• Where the snow goes once your lot runs out of space. One firm’s terms let it use the side of the driveway or arrange storage with a neighbour.

Contract clauses are on the seasonal contract page. The plow ridge itself is on the windrow clearing page.

What to put in your request

Give the street name and type, whether it sits in a permit zone, how many cars park at the house and where they go during a ban. Add when the first car leaves on a weekday. A street-side photo of the driveway and sidewalk edge shows where the cars and the snow both fit.

Who you are dealing with

Ottawa Snow Desk is a request form. It passes your request to one independent local snow company, which calls you back, answers the ban-night questions with its own terms and does the clearing.