City council proposes new towing program during parking bans

The city is looking at how it can tow more vehicles during residential street parking bans.

The City of Edmonton is looking for a way to get cars towed during winter parking bans.

Coun. Andrew Knack brought forward a motion on Wednesday to create a new towing program to allow for stricter parking ban enforcement.

City staff said parked cars weren’t towed during the last parking ban because there was no money to do so after a former pilot project wrapped up.

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Knack said it’s a real problem for plows when people don’t move their cars out of the way.

“You’ve got crews that can’t do their job. We get hundreds of complaints every time this happens, about folks who haven’t removed their cars. And I just want to empower the staff to do their work,” he said.

City council explained that some residential roads weren’t able to be cleared this winter because so many cars have remained parked there.

City administration will work on a new strategy and review ticketing options. A report is expected later this year.

For more information on city parking bans, visit the City of Edmonton website.