Be prepared to pay if you leave your vehicle on the road when the snow plows come through your neighourhood this winter.
City crews are officially in the thick of residential plowing.
Public Works manager Greg Sikora said the city is trying to develop a culture of change and encourage residents to be part of a collaborative program.
Last year there were 10,000 vehicles left on the street during the plowing campaign. Warning letters were handed out to remind residents about the program as opposed to tickets.
But this year the hammer will come down on the rule breakers.
Vehicles parked on the street when a snow zone is being plowed will be tickted and/or towed.
Tickets are $85 on grey routes and $155 if you leave your vehicle and it is ticketed and towed on green routes.
Vehicles parked on the street slow down the plows, making it difficult to plow a smooth surface, resulting in an uneven roadway, said Sikora.
The recent freeze-thaw conditions have created ruts on the green routes.
“It makes it very difficult in some situations to move in and out of lanes,” said Sikora. “We want to get them all nicely cleaned up and we’re going to proceed with grey routes as well.”
He said this will resurface the road and move some of the snowpack and build some small windrows on both sides of the road. The intent is to prepare for the snowfall to ensure there are safe and accessible roads, said Sikora.
Look for signage: Red “no parking” signs are used on green routes only. On grey routes, there will be large signs at the entrances to neighbourhoods indicating when plowing is taking place.
Crews began plowing in Snow Zone C and green routes on Tuesday.
Green routes are plowed to bare pavement with no windrows. The snow is removed.
Grey routes are plowed to a 5 cm snowpack, and windrows are left on both sides of the street. Windrows from front driveways will be cleared and the snow will be placed on the windrows on the remainder of the street.
The remaining snow zones and routes will be scheduled and announced in alphabetical order until complete (ending with B).
To find out more about snow zones, visit www.reddeer.ca/snowzone or call the Snow Zone Hotline at 403-406-8796.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com