By the City of St. Catharines
With a snowfall warning from Environment Canada predicting 10 to 20 cm of snow Thursday evening into Friday morning the City will declare a Significant Weather Event and initiate a Snow Parking prohibition this evening. A Snow Parking Ban prohibiting on-street parking in the majority of the City will come into effect at 8 p.m. on Feb. 17.
The prohibition is essential to allow City plows to remove snow quickly and effectively from transportation corridors.
With rain advancing into snow early this evening there is a risk of freezing rain and ice pellets alongside reduced visibility and slippery conditions on roadways. As a result, the Significant Weather Event is being declared as of 3 p.m. on Feb. 17. As per the Ontario Municipal Act, a municipality may declare a significant weather event when a weather hazard, either forecasted or occurring, has the potential to pose a significant danger to users of the roadways over which they have authority. This declaration suspends the standard timelines required for municipalities to meet their winter maintenance objectives.
During significant weather events the City prioritizes snow removal on primary and designated secondary roads to ensure access for emergency responders and delivery of public transit. For more information about snow removal visit www.stcatharines.ca/SnowRemoval.