On-street snowfall parking bans to come into force in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Sweeping new parking bans on Fort St. John’s major thoroughfares will be coming into force this winter to allow for more efficient snow clearing.

During the October 14th regular council meeting, the City of Fort St. John council approved its new Snow and Ice Control Policy ahead of the winter season. 

The policy outlined changes to the city’s previous ‘priority-based’ system, replacing it with a ‘category-based’ system. 

The categories range from one to five, and while some deviations may occur depending on events, unusual weather conditions and snowfall activity, city staff will clear streets and sidewalks in accordance with them. 

Specifically:

• Category one: Arterial roads, including 100th Street and 100th Avenue, along with adjacent sidewalks
• Category two: Collector routes and adjacent sidewalks
• Category three: Transit routes, transit stops and downtown core avenues
• Category four: Frontage roads and core lanes
• Category five: Residential areas, according to snow-clearing day schedules

The policy also detailed specific changes and restrictions to vehicles parking on the road during the winter. 

Parking restrictions were first discussed during a January council meeting, when councillors and staff considered changing the Traffic Bylaw to allow for seasonal parking bans on certain roads to support faster, more efficient snow removal. 

During the meeting, the director of public works and utilities for Fort St. John explained staff needed approximately 2,400 hours to clear 10 centimetres of snow from all city sidewalks and roads. 

Following the October meeting, three amendments were made to the Traffic Bylaw to support snow-clearing operations during the winter months in the city. 

The amendments pertain only to the times when the city is actively clearing snow quantities of more than five centimetres. 

The first amendment states that during the winter months, the city will be enforcing no on-street parking on category one roads, with the exceptions of 100th Street and 100th Avenue. 

The second amendment restricts any parking on 100th Street and 100th Avenue between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., and the third amendment prohibits on-street parking in residential areas between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

As these changes are being made to support crews in clearing city roads “more efficiently,” any vehicles found to be in violation of these restrictions “may be ticketed or relocated.” Any roads found to have an “excessive” number of vehicles parked on them will be deferred “until the vehicles are cleared.” 

Following questions from council, staff stated the first year of the policy was “all about communication and education.”

“This year will be…a soft launch of this [policy],” Darrell Blades, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer, told council. 

“One or two cars don’t really make much difference to our snow plows, it’s when the whole street is packed, so the first little bit will be about the operators reporting back to their manager and director about the impacts they’re seeing.”

Snow clearing begins, according to staff, after five centimetres of snowfall in the city, and accumulations are classified in three different ‘snowfall events’ and announced by public works and utilities. 

Snowfall events are considered minimal if there is less than five centimetres, basic if there is between five and 10 centimetres and major if there is between 10 and 20 centimetres. 

“Staff will utilize reputable and reliable weather forecasting apps to determine conditions and anticipate accumulations,” the report noted. 

Blades confirmed information would be available for the public online regarding when they can and cannot park on which streets and – when manpower allows – portable signage will be put out for residents to refer to. 

“The intent is to educate, educate, educate, communicate and get stuff out this year…adjust as we’re going through the year and then revamp the plan for the following year,” Blades said. 

To read the complete 2025 Snow and Ice Control Policy, see below.