Ottawa Winter Parking Rules and Snow Clearing

The Winter Weather Parking Ban

Between mid-November and the start of April, the City may declare a Winter Weather Parking Ban when conditions warrant it: freezing rain, or a snow accumulation forecast to reach the threshold the City publishes for the Ottawa area. A ban is called to give clearing equipment room to work, and it stays in effect until the City issues notice that it has been lifted.

Bans come in two forms: an overnight ban and a daytime ban. The City aims to make the call for an overnight ban in the morning and the call for a daytime ban in the afternoon, so that residents have notice before the restriction takes effect. The purpose is the same either way, which is streets clear of parked cars so that ploughs can clear them kerb to kerb.

How a ban is announced, and how to check

When a ban is declared, the City issues a special advisory to local media and posts it on ottawa.ca. Residents can also sign up to receive winter parking alerts by email, follow the City’s social media accounts, or use the City of Ottawa app for notifications.

• Check ottawa.ca for the current ban status before leaving a car on the street overnight.
• Subscribe to winter parking alerts by email so the notice reaches you directly.
• Follow the City’s accounts and enable app notifications for the fastest warning.
• Remember that a ban restricts street parking; it does not close City parking facilities.

Overnight parking on residential streets

Ottawa’s general on-street restrictions are daytime limits. Parking is prohibited beyond a set number of hours on weekdays and a longer limit at weekends and on statutory holidays, in both cases during the day, and parking is also prohibited during snow removal and street sweeping operations regardless of signage.

What applies overnight on a residential street therefore depends on three things: the posted signs on that street, whether it falls within a residential parking permit area, and whether a winter weather parking ban is in effect. Residential parking permit holders are exempt from winter weather parking bans, which is the main reason permit areas matter so much in winter.

How the City prioritises clearing

Snow clearing runs on a road-priority system, with high-use, emergency and transit routes cleared first, and the sequence is triggered by how much snow has accumulated. Highway 174, the Transitway, major roads and arterials come first. Sidewalks in the downtown core and the winter cycling network follow. Then come secondary roads and minor collectors, then residential sidewalks, and finally residential roads and lanes as accumulation builds.

Timelines can be paused when a Significant Weather Event is declared, and work continues as conditions allow and resources permit. That is why a residential street can sit snow-covered while an arterial is already bare: the order is deliberate rather than evidence that a street was missed.

What property owners are responsible for

The City clears roads and residential sidewalks, but the rules place specific obligations on property owners, and they are enforced through the Use and Care of Roads by-law and the licensing of snow plow contractors.

• Do not push or shovel snow or ice onto the City’s right-of-way, which includes streets, sidewalks, pathways and parks.
• Remove the windrow. The pile of snow a plough leaves across the end of your driveway is the property owner’s responsibility.
• Use safe driveway markers: wood, plastic, fibreglass or metal, no larger than a hockey stick, and set back from the street or sidewalk.
• Clear snow and ice away from catch basins near your property so that meltwater can drain, and report blocked basins to the City.
• Keep fire hydrants on or near your property clear of snow through the winter.

Reporting an unploughed street or an unsafe sidewalk

The City takes snow and ice reports through 311, including an online reporting route under road, ditch and sidewalk maintenance. The categories cover roads and sidewalks that have not been ploughed or sanded, high snowbanks, and slippery or icy surfaces, along with blocked catch basins and property damage caused by a City vehicle.

If you hire a contractor to clear your property, the company needs a valid business licence and snow plow operators need a snow plow contractor licence. Contractors are bound by the same snow dumping rules, and City snow disposal facilities are not open to private operators.