Here is how Ottawa is clearing the snow from last week's storm

Winter has walloped the capital region, snow banks have narrowed streets, and someone has to take it all away.

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Hundreds of massive machines and as many crew members will be working around the clock for the next few weeks, to ensure the city’s network of more than 1,300 kilometres of roadways are clear and safe.

"We’re about two days into our removal and once we do start our snow removal operations, it is a massive undertaking,” said Bryden Denyes, the city's manager for road services.

"There’s a lot of resources that go into this."

When a street is slated to be cleared, planted in the piles of snow are very clear and colourful reminders that parking is not allowed.

“The signs are critical. They have times on them, so if you see a yellow sign that is a daytime sign, it will have a no parking symbol on it from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” said Denyes.

"When you see a red sign, that’s our night sign, so no parking from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and then if you’re in a business improvement area, like the Byward Market, there are some special green signs that are from midnight to 7 a.m."

Bylaw enforcement officers are patrolling areas which are marked to be cleared. If a vehicle is parked, it will be ticketed and likely towed.

“When we tow the car, it’s not being impounded, it’s being moved to the closest side street and dropped off," Denyes said.

Residents can call 3-1-1 to help identify where that car has been moved to.

“We really want to make sure those cars are moved because if there are cars on the street, it slows our operations down," he said.

The city says snow clearing is done using a "road-priority system," with high-use, emergency and transit routes cleared first.

Ottawa's full fleet of larger snowplows will have new rubber-edged blades by the end of the month.

Staff say all steel plow blades will be replaced with rubber blades, "which helps the plow follow the contours of the road better and allows for improved snow and ice removal."

City staff will be shovelling the snow off the staircases at the Flora Footbridge and the Corktown Footbridge this winter.

Councillors Shawn Menard and Ariel Troster says they have worked with staff to ensure the stairs will be maintained through the winter.

The city says only stairways that have no ramp or alternative access point to a pathway within a "reasonable distance" are winter maintained, and ramps are "prioritized over stairways for winter maintenance."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle