With the rush to clear the streets comes tight adherence to the rules of residential parking.
Louise Jones became a victim of strict interpretation of the rules. She lives on Oak Street in a multi-resident dwelling and says the landlord has assigned her no viable parking space. For years she has parked on an unused grassy spot by the home, but on Monday she discovered that it was owned by the city and clearance crews paid almost no mind to her compact car as they deposited snow in their wake.
Solid walls of snow were pushed all around the small vehicle.
"Every winter before, they have plowed and left it clear for me," she said. "I've even had it scooped out for me by the loaders. But the guys yesterday pushed the snow right up against my car and another car. I ended up losing a night's work because I couldn't get my car out.
"A city supervisor came over and told us it was our fault, we were parked in an inappropriate spot. I have a heart problem, so I can't shovel, but that supervisor shovelled it out for me," she said.
Her absentee landlord shows no sign of caring what his tenants' needs are, she said, and besides, "I don't know if you know much about this area, but parking anywhere you can't see all the time is just asking to get broken into."
Jones works at night and thus was sleeping during the day when the snow removal crew came through, or she would have moved the car before it got in their way, she said.
"They are doing a great job on the roads, but they could have avoided doing that," said Jones.
The public is warned that parking on residential streets is prohibited between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., and during the evening/night hours you can only park on the odd-numbered side of the street.
Downtown parking restrictions demand vehicles be kept in parking lots and parkades overnight, not the streets of the city's core.
"One of the main obstacles hampering effective snow plowing and removal is illegally parked vehicles," said Al Clark, manager of the snow removal crews.
"The city's ticketing system, resulting in $50 fines helps eliminate this costly problem. In addition, illegally parked vehicles are also subject to towing if they impede municipal snow operations. Please follow the regulations. We want to remove snow, not your vehicle. To ensure quality snow removal, please help us by keeping your street clear of parked vehicles."
If the crews are on a busy schedule, an errant vehicle won't get towed until later. The owner will get a ticket, but the snow crews will plow around it and move on. This leaves a large pile of snow in that spot, possibly for weeks afterwards, which impedes driving and legal parking later.
The problem is not just for city crews. St. Denis Heights resident Jackie Johnson said drivers themselves are hampered by street parkers when deep ruts and snow lumps make it hard to steer a precise course.
"I was trying to get up St. Patrick Avenue and the worst part was all the vehicles parked on both sides of the road," she said. "I'm sure some might be stuck there, but a lot of them had clean, shovelled driveways but they were still parked out at the curb. If you park in the driveway and stay off the street, the street is kept a lot better and it is easier for drivers to get through."
Meanwhile, a night without snowfall was like a night of rain for forest firefighters for the city's road maintenance crews. It allowed for significant progress on Prince George's 630 kilometres of roads and 150 kilometres of sidewalks.
