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A snowstorm that started Thursday afternoon prompted the City of Ottawa to declare a “significant weather event.”
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On-street parking will be banned Friday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. as crews clean up from the anticipated heavy snowfall. Anyone with an on-street monthly parking permit is exempted from the ban, but the city is encouraging motorists to find off-street parking options to help plow operators.
The city makes OC Transpo park-and-ride lots and some recreation centres available for parking during on-street parking bans.
Environment Canada predicted as much as 30 centimetres of snow could fall by Friday morning. The city said it could take longer than usual to clear roads, sidewalks and bike lanes. The downtown occupation could also impact snow clearing in that area.
Public transit will be heavily impacted on Friday and in the coming days because of the snowstorm and the downtown occupation, which is coming under stronger police enforcement.
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OC Transpo warned transit customers that a limited number of articulated buses would be deployed to routes, with the agency relying heavily on double-decker buses and 40-foot buses for service. Buses will run on reduced schedules across the city.
The articulated buses have had a difficult time operating in deep snow, as illustrated during a blizzard last month, when 48 centimetres of snow fell on Ottawa in one day.
OC Transpo is also closing the LRT line between Pimisi and Hurdman stations for an unspecified period of time starting Friday morning. Trains will still run between Tunney’s Pasture and Pimisi stations, and between Hurdman and Blair stations. Downtown LRT stations will be closed.
