Winter Parking Ban Begins Dec. 15

The province's winter parking ban takes effect Monday, Dec. 15, in many communities throughout Nova Scotia.

Provincial Winter Parking Regulations help crews from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal clear roads quickly and safely after snow storms.

The regulations apply to drivers in communities in 14 municipalities and do not allow parking on roads maintained by the department between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. Drivers are also restricted from parking vehicles on highways and streets from one hour after a snowstorm begins to two hours after it has stopped. In fact, it is an offence to park on any roadway in such a manner that it might interfere with or obstruct snow removal or winter maintenance operations on the highway.

A complete list of communities with restricted parking will be carried in newspaper ads, and is available by visiting the road safety section of the department's website at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/highwayops/roadsafety.asp .

Some people are exempt from the parking ban, including:

• doctors parked near their offices or homes and who are on call
• on-duty members of police and fire departments and Armed Forces
• commercial drivers in the process of loading and unloading
• drivers of public utility vehicles parked at, or near, their homes and who may be required to make emergency calls

Drivers who ignore the Winter Parking Regulations face penalties under the Motor Vehicle Act.

The winter parking ban will be in effect until March 30, 2009.