Winter parking bans

Five winter parking bans can be declared to support snow clearing operations in Winnipeg.

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Annual Winter Route Parking Ban

	New	Old
Name	Annual Winter Route Parking Ban	Annual Snow Route Parking Ban
Start date	Any time on or after November 1 based on weather conditions	Annually on December 1
End date	The ban will be lifted in the spring when it is no longer needed operationally, though it can remain in place until the end of April if required	Annually on the last day of February
How you knew/will know it’s happening	We will provide seven days’ notice of the ban coming into effect via our website, a news release, and push notifications from the Know Your Zone App. We will also place informational flyers on the windshields of vehicles parked on designated routes with the highest overnight parking utilization prior to the ban going into effect.	The ban started and ended on the same dates every winter
What it meant/means	No parking between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. daily on streets designated as Winter Routes, which are marked with either SNOW ROUTE or WINTER ROUTE signs	No parking between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. daily on streets designated as snow routes, which are all marked with SNOW ROUTE signs or WINTER ROUTE signs

The Annual Winter Route Parking Ban will begin when weather conditions require it.

It can come into effect at any point from November 1 to the end of April. The declaration will be made and notice provided to Winnipeggers seven days in advance of the ban beginning.

Once the ban is in effect vehicles cannot park on a designated winter route between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. As we work to update current signage, winter routes will be marked by one of two signs: WINTER ROUTE or SNOW ROUTE. Both mean the same thing: once the ban is in effect, do not park between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. or risk a ticket and tow.

You can determine whether a given street is considered a winter route by using the interactive Winter Route map

Extended Winter Route Parking Ban

We will declare this ban when we require extra time to complete snow operations – most often after a major snowfall or when snow has accumulated to a high level. When declared, this ban extends the Annual Winter Route Parking Ban by two hours, prohibiting vehicles from being parked on Winter Routes from midnight to 7 a.m. The Extended Winter Route Parking Ban does not require seven days advance notice to declare.

The Extended Winter Route Parking Ban may also be declared whether or not the Annual Winter Route Parking Ban is in effect, prohibiting vehicles from being parked on Winter Routes from midnight to 7 a.m.

Residential Parking Ban

A Residential Parking Ban is called to facilitate fast and efficient snow clearing operations on residential streets once it has been determined that we must clear them.

All residential streets have been assigned a snow zone, identified by a letter of the alphabet. It’s important that you familiarize yourself with your snow zone by downloading the Know Your Zone app, using our address lookup tool, or by contacting 311.

We will announce the clearing schedule prior to the start of a residential plow operation via our website, a news release, and on the Know Your Zone app (via both on-demand information and push notifications).

Zones are plowed in 12-hour shifts:

• Day Shift: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Night Shift: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Under normal conditions, it takes approximately five shifts to complete the plowing operation city-wide.

Snow Emergency Parking Ban

The Mayor may declare a snow emergency at any time. This prompts a Snow Emergency Parking Ban that prohibits parking on Winter Routes at all times while in effect.

Temporary No Parking

Occasionally, individual streets may require additional snow removal work.

Learn more through the Parking ban FAQ