Winter moving in Ottawa: parking bans, snow and ice on moving day

What an Ottawa winter does to a move

Winter in Ottawa is long. Environment Canada’s 1991–2020 normals put the mean temperature at minus 5.1 C in December, minus 9.6 in January and minus 8.1 in February. Snowfall averages 42.7 cm in December, 44.5 in January, 41.0 in February and 30.9 in March, with 16.1 cm already in November and 7.5 cm in April. The year totals 184.5 cm.

Cold alone rarely stops a crew. The slow parts are the snow on the driveway, the ice on the steps and the street. On an hourly job, slower carries are billed time. The Ottawa price pages we opened print no winter surcharge.

Parking bans and the truck

The City may declare a Winter Weather Parking Ban between November 15 and April 1 for freezing rain or when Environment Canada forecasts 7 cm or more of snow for the Ottawa area. The City aims to call an overnight ban by 9 am, running 7 pm to 7 am, and a daytime ban by 3:30 pm, running 10 am to 7 pm. A ban lasts until the City lifts it. Vehicles without a residential parking permit parked on the street may be ticketed and towed. Residents with a permit are exempt.

For a moving day, this matters in two ways. A truck on the street during a daytime ban is exposed, and a ban the evening before can clear the street of the cars that usually line it. Ask the company who watches the City’s alerts and what the plan is for a ban day. Parking by-law basics stay in force: 3 hours on unsigned streets from 7 am to 7 pm, nothing within 9 metres of an intersection or 3 metres of a hydrant, and no parking during snow removal operations. A vehicle over 6.5 metres long may not stay overnight on the roadway. The local moving page explains how that plays out.

Snow on your side of the kerb

The City’s rule for property owners is plain. Snow from a driveway or walk must not be pushed onto streets, sidewalks, pathways or parks. The pile a plow leaves at the end of a driveway, the windrow, is the owner’s to remove. A windrow across the driveway entrance can block a truck or force it to stop in the street, so clear it before the crew arrives.

Clear the steps, the walk and the area where the crew will carry items. Do this the evening before and look again in the morning, since overnight snow and freezing rain undo the work. Freezing rain falls on 3.2 days in an average January and 2.4 in December, and it turns a cleared step to glaze.

Cold, wet floors and fragile things

Boots track slush and salt through the house. Ask the company about floor runners and blankets at both addresses. Put a mat and towels at each door. For electronics, plants, musical instruments and anything that dislikes cold, tell the company in the request so it plans a short exposure and a warm unload. Pianos have their own page: piano moving.

Short days matter on an hourly job, so start early. Wind chill below minus 20 on 14.7 January days is a reason to build breaks into a long job.

Buildings and elevators

Apartment and condo moves in winter run into wet lobbies and busy elevators. Book the elevator with a longer buffer, and ask the building how it protects floors. Apartment moving and condo moving explain the bookings. If your date is flexible, a mid-month weekday outside a storm forecast is easier to staff; see month-by-month guide.

If the weather turns

Ask for the company’s reschedule rule before you book: who decides, how early, and whether a fee applies. Ontario requires a written contract for moving services worth more than $50, and the final bill can be at most 10% above the written estimate unless you agree to extras. Put the weather rule in the same document. Moving contracts in Ontario has the list of items to check.

Who plans the winter move

We pass the request to one independent mover. That company asks about the snow, the steps and the date, and prices the move.