Winter parking bans
Five winter parking bans can be declared to support snow clearing operations in Winnipeg.
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Winter route parking ban
The annual winter route parking ban will start when weather conditions require it.
It can come into effect at any point from November 1 to the end of April. We will announce the ban seven days before it starts.
Once the ban is in effect, you may not park on designated winter routes between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. Winter routes are 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.
Find out if a street is a designated winter route on our snow map.
Extended winter route parking ban
We extend the winter route parking ban when we need some extra time to complete snow operations. This is most often after a major snowfall or a series of smaller snowfalls that leave behind a combined large amount of snow.
The ban starts the winter route parking ban earlier. When it is in effect, people can't park on designated winter routes starting at midnight (rather than 2 a.m.).
We may ticket or tow vehicles found parked in violation of the ban.
Residential parking ban
We call the residential parking ban to help us clean up snow and ice on residential streets.
We typically only do this once a significant amount of snow is accumulated. All residential streets are assigned a snow zone letter of the alphabet. It's important that you find out your snow zone by:
- Using the Know Your Zone app
- Looking up the address on our snow map
- Or contacting 311
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.
We announce the clearing schedule when we announce a ban. You can see if a snow ban is on at any location using our snow map.
New for 2023:
We will now suspend the winter route parking ban for the duration of a residential ban.
This means drivers may park overnight on designated winter routes from when the residential parking ban starts until it ends.
Moving forward, this suspension will occur with each residential parking ban. It is meant to provide more parking options during residential plowing operations.
Drivers must continue to adhere to any temporary or unrelated on-street signage that may prohibit parking on these routes. This includes things like no parking during rush hour and loading zones.
We will reinstate the winter route parking ban when the residential ban ends. This will once again prohibit parking on designated winter routes daily, from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Vehicles parked in violation of the Residential Parking Ban may receive a $200 ticket ($150 if paid early) and may be towed to a nearby street that doesn't have restrictions.
Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology will be used to identify vehicles parked in violation of the residential ban. This will ensure greater city-wide parking enforcement coverage, improve motorist compliance with winter parking bans, and improve our overall snow clearing service. Those parked in violation will receive tickets in the mail rather than on the windshield of their vehicle. Enforcement officers will continue to hand-deliver penalty notices to vehicles when necessary.
Snow emergency parking ban
If Winnipeg is hit by an unexpected heavy snowfall, the Mayor may declare a snow emergency. This prompts a snow emergency parking ban that prohibits all parking on winter routes.
No tickets are issued under this ban; however, vehicles will be towed out of the way of plows to nearby locations.
Temporary no parking
Occasionally, individual streets may require additional snow removal work.
In these cases, we post temporary "no parking" signs.
Vehicles parked in violation may be ticketed and towed to the towing company's compound.
Learn more through the Parking ban FAQ