The following information is provided by Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper and OC Transpo
A major winter storm is on the horizon and non-essential travel during this time should be avoided. Anyone who must travel during this event is asked to plan ahead and to give themselves extra travel time.
Environment Canada has issued a Winter Storm Warning, and effective immediately, the City of Ottawa is declaring a Significant Weather Event that will remain in effect until further notice.
A Significant Weather Event (SWE) is declared when Environment Canada issues a Weather Hazard when weather that is either occurring or approaching has the potential to pose significant danger to users of Ottawa’s transportation network. The intent of declaring a SWE is to notify the public that because of the forecast and/or current weather conditions, it will take longer than usual to restore the transportation network to expected conditions and that caution is to be exercised when using sidewalks, roads, and the winter cycling network.
Forecast and Conditions
Snow is expected to start this evening and intensify overnight with the heaviest snow expected to fall Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Peak snowfall rates are expected to exceed 5 centimetres per hour with 30 to 40 centimetres forecasted before gradually tapering off on Thursday afternoon. Winds will be up to 30 kilometres per hour, gusting to 50, causing blowing and drifting snow in open areas. Travel should be avoided as rapidly accumulating snow will make conditions on the transportation network difficult to navigate and road closures are possible.
Once accumulation begins, all resources will be deployed and crews will focus on treating and clearing sidewalks, priority roads, bus routes, the Transitway and the winter cycling network. Our Parks Maintenance partners will also be out in full force, clearing City facility parking lots (with a priority on Fire and Paramedic stations) as well as lots serving recreation centres.
Overnight parking bans
There will be two back-to-back Winter Weather Parking Bans called. The first will be in effect from 10 am to 7 pm on Thursday, February 13 and the second will be in effect from 10 am to 7 pm on Friday, February 14. These two back-to-back winter weather parking bans are essential for the support of our operations. Should the forecast shift and underperform, the second ban may be called off.
During this time, all vehicles must be removed from the roadway – unless you have an eligible parking permit or are accessing parking in our exempted commercial main streets. Though eligible parking permit holders are exempt, we encourage those who can, please try to find alternate parking during this time to prevent your vehicle from being snowed in. The City of Ottawa has several parking lots available for residents to park during a parking ban. Vehicles may remain parked at these sites for the duration of the ban and must be removed after the City announces that the ban has been lifted. Information on all parking options during a winter weather parking ban is available on Ottawa.ca/winterparking.
Residents can stay in the know about our winter weather parking bans by signing up for e-alerts at Ottawa.ca, or by downloading the City of Ottawa app.
School bus cancellations
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority has already announced school buses won’t be running on Thursday for the English and French public and Catholic school boards. For now, all schools remain open.
Reduction of OC Transpo service
OC Transpo is implementing a Severe Storm Schedule for buses beginning Thursday, February 13, due to the current severe winter storm forecast for Ottawa. The Severe Storm Schedule does not apply to O-Train service, which will run on a normal schedule.
A Severe Storm Schedule for buses is implemented on weekdays when 31 centimetres or more of snow is predicted to fall or under other severe weather conditions. Further to the communications sent to Mayor and Members of Council by the Public Works department, there is a significant weather event that is forecasted to result in snow accumulations of up to 40 centimetres. Due to these severe conditions, a Severe Storm Schedule is being implemented. This is the first time a Severe Storm Schedule has been implemented in the city since the plan was introduced in 2022.
What this means for our customers starting on Thursday, February 13:
- Bus service will follow a reduced schedule in order to provide safer and more reliable service during the winter storm and to allow the entire network to recover more quickly.
- Most routes in the network will be affected by these schedule adjustments. Many routes will have reduced frequencies and modified trip times, and select routes will not run.
- Customers are strongly encouraged to use the Travel Planner, double-check their route before they travel and expect delays.
- Many articulated buses will be replaced with 40-foot and double-decker buses to improve service reliability.
- O-Train and Para Transpo service levels will not be reduced, but customers should still plan ahead, expect delays and exercise increased caution when boarding and exiting vehicles and at bus stops and station platforms.