Parking ban lifted as Ottawa digs out after blizzard
A 24-hour winter parking ban was issued in Ottawa Tuesday as snow removal crews began the process of digging residential streets out from under a record amount of snow.
It was in effect from 7 p.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson told Newstalk 580 CFRA that it will take a lot of time to clean up.
"It's going to be many, many days because they've got to get into the residential streets and then they have to come back and start removing the snowbanks from major commercial streets, and that takes a lot of time," he told Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron. "When you have 13,000 kilometers of roads, it takes a long period of time, even though we have every piece of equipment out.
Watson said he expects the cleanup to cost as much as $5 million.
"The last briefing I had showed that we're in pretty good shape because January was pretty mild, except for this major blast of it, so I think we're in good financial shape," he said. "We did put in extra dollars, recognizing that these storms and these snow incidents are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change, as a result of a number of different factors."
Environment Canada issued a blizzard warning and later a winter storm warning for Ottawa. By 5 p.m., the Ottawa Airport had seen a record 47 cm of snow.
Roads manager Bryden Denyes told the CTV News at 6 on Monday that crews were set to begin working on residential streets at around 7 p.m.
"It's one of the worst three-hour periods of snow I've seen in doing this job," he said. "Our conditions were extremely treacherous and dangerous. We plowed areas and within half an hour, you couldn't even tell we had been there."
Quentin Levesque, acting director of roads and parking services for the city of Ottawa told reporters Monday afternoon that the speed at which the snow came down Monday morning created significant issues.
"Between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., we were seeing accumulations in the range of 5 centimetres up to 12 centimetres in some areas of the city per hour," he said. "This proves very difficult for staff to keep up, as far as clearing the snow from our sidewalks, roadways and our winter cycling network."
Environment Canada said 12 cm of snow fell between 8 and 9 a.m. Another 9 cm fell between 9 and 10 a.m. on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
BREAKING Canadian Blood Services apologizes to LGBTQ2S+ community for discriminatory blood donation policy
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
BREAKING 'Just wait': Toronto mayor hints that WNBA team is coming to the city amid multiple reports
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.