Street-parking ban mulled for Westside when it snows
Mayor says plows have tough time clearing some residential streets after snowstorms
A parking ban could be applied on West Kelowna streets to aid with plowing after a big snowstorm.
Crews are challenged in clearing many residential areas because the city does not currently have such a restriction, Mayor Doug Findlater says.
“If you drive around, some of our streets, even now with that big snow event being some time ago, you’ve still got these big bulges of snow that go to the centre line on some streets because the plows are working around vehicles that have been abandoned,” Findlater said.
“It must be tough for plow operators to do their job,” he said. “There have been some plowparked car altercations.”
Councillors agreed to fast-track the recommendation for staff to look into the ways by which a snow route designation could be implemented and enforced.
“Being as we’re in January, the sooner we deal with this in the winter months, the more important that is to me, versus waiting and dealing with it in March or April, when snow isn’t an issue for the next nine months,” Coun. Rick De Jong said.
Devising an effective system for ensuring cars don’t block plows might be a challenge, Coun. Bryden Winsby said, given the unpredictability of storms and lack of parking options in many neighbourhoods.
“There are people who are going to be caught with their shovels down when these things happen,” he said. “They can happen in the middle of the night. They can happen when people are out of town.
“It’s not just that simple — ‘Oh, it’s snowing. I think I’ll go and move my car into the driveway I don’t have,’” Winsby said.
After several days of relatively mild and dry weather, Environment Canada forecasts between five and 10 centimetres of snow today.
“We’ll have all hands on deck,” City of Kelowna roadways supervisor Stephen Bryans said.
The city has more than 30 pieces of snow-clearing equipment that will be deployed today, he said.
Kelowna budgets $1.7 million on a calendar basis for snow removal. Final costs for 2017 aren’t known yet, with some contractor bills still to be submitted, but Bryans estimated the total would be just under $2 million.
“That’s higher than it’s been in the past five years or so,” he said.
A carry-over reserve of about $500,000, accumulated during past years when snowfall was below expectations, will be used to cover the expense.