If there is one thing that most Canadians can agree on, it's that winter roads are not fun, and Fort Saskatchewan is no exception.
Over the past few weeks, crews have been hard at work clearing snow off of residential roads around the city and many folks in the community have been curious about the rules that come with that work.
To properly clear off roads, the city has been asking residents to be vigilant of signs that indicate when their neighbourhood will be serviced and to move any vehicles off of the road.
Inevitably, those warnings will be missed by a few, so what happens when a vehicle is in the way?
"When a vehicle is left on a snow route, we make every attempt to call the owner," said Maryjo Webster with municipal enforcement. "[We] conduct door knocks and inquire with neighbours if possible."
Because notices are put up 72 hours before service, cars that are blocking snow routes are actually treated as if they are abandoned. This is in accordance with a local bylaw that states that for a vehicle to be considered abandoned it must be in the same place for at least three days.
"When a vehicle is unable to be removed, we then proceed to towing and ticketing."
If you're worried about missing out on any work going on in your neighbourhood and want to avoid having your vehicle towed, all you have to do is keep a vigilant eye.
"Sandwich board signs get posted 72 hours prior to the snow removal," said Webster. "We also post about snow removal on our city social sites, use electronic board signs and push the information to local media."
The punishments are different from an abandoned vehicle. People who fail to move their vehicles from snow routes face a $250 plus any additional towing fees that the towing company charges.
As with abandoned vehicles, those who have had their vehicles towed can either call the municipal enforcement complaint line or head to Titan Towing to retrieve their vehicle.