CORNWALL – Despite the mild weather and melting snow and ice, overnight winter parking restrictions will stay in place at least this week, said the city’s head of municipal works.
“The biggest item right now is there’s still a lot of encroachment of the snow banks on to the roads and that means restricted roadways. So if people were to start to park on the road then it might make it difficult for vehicles to pass by and…for bus routes…it’s very challenging,” John St. Marseille told Cornwall Newswatch.
An overnight parking ban was usually in place from Dec. 15 until March 31.
But last fall, city council passed modifications to its winter parking restrictions, allowing the general manager of municipal works to make a discretionary call on allowing overnight parking, starting March 1.
“For that reason (the built-up snowbanks) it’s still in place for this week. We will monitor it and we will put something out on social media if it is going to be lifted next week,” St. Marseille said.
“We don’t think winter’s really over with yet but for the foreseeable short term it looks pretty positive,” he said.
The municipal works GM said it will take some time for the ice-packed snowbanks to melt back to the curbs of city streets.
While he did see some people parking overnight, St. Marseille couldn’t say whether it’s been a problem because Cornwall police are in charge of giving out tickets to overnight parking violators.
“We haven’t had any formal complaints,” he said.
The city is also doing more catch basin clearings to allow melting snow and ice to run off and city crews are out doing pothole repairs.