Ottawa hit by winter storm
Parking banned overnight
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 | 10:03 PM ET
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Pedestrians face blustery, snowy conditions as they cross Laurier Street in downtown Ottawa. (Emily Chung/CBC) More snow than originally forecast is now expected for the Ottawa region because the season's first snowstorm failed to dissolve into rain as predicted earlier.
Environment Canada was calling for 25 centimetres of snow in some areas north and east of Lake Ontario, while CBC climatologist Ian Black forecast 20 centimetres for the Ottawa region itself. A day before, both Black and Environment Canada had been expecting about 15 centimetres.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, there was rain in the Smiths Falls and Perth area to the south.
"I don't think that's going to make it as far north as Ottawa," Black said.
The City of Ottawa planned to work through the night to clear the streets and sidewalks, and parking was banned on city streets overnight.
"It gives us more room to manoeuvre and plow the roads properly," said Dan O'Keefe, manager of road maintenance for the city.
Throughout the winter, vehicles will be ticketed if found parked on city streets between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. if there is more than seven centimetres of snow on the ground. In Gatineau, parking is banned until April 1 between midnight and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends unless otherwise indicated. Garbage cans and blue boxes are also banned from sidewalks to facilitate sidewalk clearing.
The City of Gatineau said residents could expect it to take 16 hours to clear the city's roads of less than 25 centimetres of snow and 24 hours to clear larger amounts.
In Ottawa, O'Keefe said city crews would work non-stop until the road network was "back in good shape." He was monitoring their progress from the city's traffic control centre, where staff spent the day monitoring collisions and dispatching snowplows and salt trucks to problem areas.
Flight delays, collisions
A man clears snow from a sidewalk on Bank Street during Wednesday's storm. (Emily Chung/CBC)
In general, it was a tough day for people trying to get around. The blowing snow led to white-out conditions and slippery roads. There were numerous flight delays and cancellations at the airports.
Things were slow on the streets also. By the start of the afternoon rush, there had been about 85 vehicle collisions on Ottawa roads and highways, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa police reported.
OPP Const. Guy Prevost said many people are driving a bit faster than they should, without proper snowtires.
"A lot of people still probably don't have them on right now and that makes it difficult for them today."
A number of articulated transit buses got stuck in the snow at various times and locations throughout the day, said CBC New reporters who witnessed the incidents. However, OC Transpo said most buses were on time, and as of Wednesday afternoon, only 14 trips out of 9,000 had to be cancelled.
While the snow caused headaches for some people, it brought joy to many others.
Dave Nicholson was out skate skiing across the fresh snow in Gatineau Park.
"I'm actually starting chemotherapy tomorrow or the day after," he said. "This is it for me — one chance — so I'm out to get it."
Michel Dallaire, a manager at Gatineau Park, said he expected about 30 per cent of the park's trails to be track set and ready to go by Friday.
The nearby Camp Fortune ski hill was expected to open Thursday, two weeks later than usual.
Peter Suderman, the owner of the facility, said cooler temperatures were allowing the park to build a durable base of man-made snow.
"Mixed in with this nice powder that we're getting now, conditions will be great," he said.
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