Streets & Transportation

Parking and commercial vehicle enforcement in Sparwood applies to municipal roads, in commercial, industrial or residential areas. The registered owner of the vehicle is responsible for their vehicle at all times. A parking ticket is the responsibility of the registered owner, regardless of who was driving the vehicle when the ticket was issued.

Parking tickets can be paid at District Office, 136 Spruce Avenue, Box 520, Sparwood, BC, V0B 2G0, during regular office hours of 8:30 am – 4:00pm. You may pay with cash, cheque, or debit card. Cheques are payable to the District of Sparwood. Please enclose the parking ticket with your payment, or write the parking ticket number or license plate number on the cheque before it is mailed.

Find more information on making payments by clicking the button below.

Once you pay your parking ticket, you can no longer dispute it.

All disputes must be in writing and must be received within 14 days of the issuance of the ticket. Complete the Notice of Dispute form (available at the Municipal Office) and submit it:

By email to: corporate@sparwood.ca

By fax: 250.425.7277

By mail: District of Sparwood, Corporate Officer, PO Box 520, Sparwood, BC, V0B 2G0 In person: 136 Spruce Avenue

Once received, the form is reviewed by the Corporate Officer. This process may take up to 30 days. The ticket may be cancelled at that time due to a technical error or extraordinary circumstances. If the ticket is not cancelled, the disputant has the option of paying the ticket in full or attending Court.

Parking tickets and car impounds

Parking tickets are issued to registered owners of vehicles in violation and any ticketed vehicle may be impounded. While public safety and protection of property are the most important reasons for towing, other reasons might be:

• To facilitate snow removal
• Demand for the location, such as emergency vehicles
• Inconvenience to others (vehicle is obstructing a driveway, private road, garage or parking lot).

Vehicles towed by the District of Sparwood may be claimed at the Public Works Yard, located at 477 Pine Avenue. Contact the District at 250.425.7760 to confirm that your vehicle has been towed by the District. Prior to getting a vehicle released, you will need to visit the District Office, located at 136 Spruce Avenue, to pay all fines, and towing and impound fees.

Bylaw Enforcement Officers are responsible for ensuring compliance of District bylaws related to parking.

Traffic, Parking and Highways Regulation Bylaw 472 regulates the use (including parking) of all District of Sparwood streets. This Bylaw, in large part, reflects the Province of British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act. Although Bylaw Enforcement Officers work primarily on a reactive, complaint-driven basis, they do periodically patrol municipal streets and may issue tickets for parking infractions such as:

• Parking contrary to traffic control devices;
• Parking continuously in excess of 24 hours unless posted otherwise;
• Parking a vehicle facing the wrong direction, against the flow of traffic;
• Parallel parking too far away from a curb (more than 45 cm);
• Parking any kind of trailer that is not attached to a motor vehicle;
• Parking a vehicle with a gross weight in excess of 5,500 KG, between the hours of 8 pm – 8 am, in a residential zone; or
• Parking within 6 metres of a lane, stop sign, crosswalk, hydrant, or an entrance or exit to a hotel, playground, fire hall or public meeting place.

Posted signs notify drivers of some parking regulations. Bylaw enforcement officers also inform motorists on how to park legally.

What to remember when parking:

• Vehicles must not obstruct intersections or park within 6 metres of a crosswalk, for visibility;
• Vehicles must not obstruct driveways, private roads or parking lots;
• Vehicles must be at least 6 metres from a fire hydrant;
• Vehicles must not park adjacent to a curb painted yellow;
• Vehicles must be parked facing the same direction of the traffic flow;
• Vehicles must leave at least 1 metre between itself and any other vehicle when parallel parking;
• Vehicles must be at least 15 metres from a railway crossing; and
• Vehicles parked on the sidewalk or overhanging the sidewalk are a risk to pedestrian safety. A pedestrian may have to enter onto the roadway to pass.

To make a complaint about parking issues in your neighbourhood, please email the Bylaw Enforcement Officer at bleo@ sparwood.ca, or call 250.425.6820, or go online to Report Problem/Request Service.

Parking related complaints must include:

• Address of occurrence;
• License plate number;
• Make, model and colour of vehicle;
• The nature of the problem; and
• If you are reporting an abandoned vehicle, please indicate how long the vehicle has been parked in that location.

It is expected that under normal winter conditions, there will be situations when the immediate demand for snow removal and ice control services will exceed the available resources.

In order to maximize the benefits of operations, snow removal and ice control personnel shall conduct operations according to the following priorities:

1. Hospital
2. Central Business District
3. Business Lanes
4. Fire Halls
5. Main Arteries
6. School Bus Routes
7. Municipal Parking Lots
8. Collector Streets
9. Residential Streets

From October 1 to March 31 and between the hours of 6:00 am – 4:00 pm, please park your vehicles in your driveway so that when the snow plow does the street the operator can do a neat and thorough job.  

Snow Removal and Ice Control (Work Days, Weekends, Statutory Holidays)

From Monday through Friday there is continuous coverage from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday there is one employee on call to respond to service calls.

The 7:00 am crew is dispatched to check street conditions. If the snow is less than 1” deep, sanding of all intersections and icy areas will begin. When the depth of snow is 1” to 2” or more, the crew may remove snow from streets in town, and if time permits, the lanes will be done. Snow that needs to be hauled away from the streets in front of businesses or congested areas is hauled out during regular work days only.

Calling out a sand truck after hours is left to the discretion of the Director of Operations, Lead Hand or the on call person. The on call person can be reached after hours at 250.425.7760. This line connects to the Public Works Shop which is routed to the on call person through an answering service.

If it should begin to snow after hours during the week or on weekends, the Director of Operations, Lead Hand and on call person have the responsibility to monitor the changing conditions so that the District can respond to any slippery or hazardous conditions. The first response units in the off hours are the combination sander/plow trucks. Any further call out of equipment is at the discretion of the Director of Operations or Lead Hand.

The District is responsible for the plowing, sanding, and removal of snow on all streets within the District boundaries, with the exception of private owned properties such as trailer courts and condos. Major highways are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) and are maintained through their contractor.

Generally 2” of snow may constitute a major plow, which means that all available equipment will start early and all parts of the District are covered in order of priority.

Windrow Removal Pilot Program

The intent of the windrow removal service is to knock down the windrow and allow for vehicle passage; it is not the intent of the program to provide full clearing and cleaning of the entire width of a driveway, from edge to edge.

General guidelines of the program include:

• Windrow removal service will be provided only when the windrow is an accumulated height of 6 inches or greater;
• No windrow removal service will be provided to residents who push snow from their driveways into the windrow for removal by the District; 
• The intent of the windrow removal service is to knock down the windrow and allow for vehicle passage; it is not the intent of the program to provide full clearing and cleaning of the entire width of a driveway, from edge to edge. Approximately 1-2” of snow will be left to avoid damage to driveways;
• Snow that has been cleared from driveways will be deposited on the boulevards and periodically removed, as required, to make room for additional storage.

If your vehicle has been towed, contact the District Office during regular business hours at 250.425.6271. To claim your vehicle, you must:

• Pay outstanding fines, towing and impound fees.

Your vehicle will be towed if:

• You have violated a parking bylaw; or
• You have abandoned your vehicle, it is a hazard, or it is an inconvenience to other motorists.

Sparwood has developed a comprehensive Transportation Master Plan to identify traffic patterns for the next ten to twenty years.

The District retained AECOM (formerly UMA Engineering) to develop a Transportation Master Plan for Sparwood. Due to growing local tourism and the expansion of the coal-mining industry, as well as the District’s close proximity to major urban centres such as Calgary and Lethbridge, a review of the existing transportation infrastructure was required to develop plans ensuring the area’s growth is supported by a safe and efficient transportation system.

The objectives of the Transportation Master Plan study are to:

• Document existing road network and operations;
• Project future development based on discussions with District planning staff and available information such as Area Service Plans (ASP) and development requests;
• Develop a future transportation network and staging plan that accommodates growth over the next 20 years;
• Develop an Active Modes Plan to encourage and accommodate the use of active modes of travel.

Please send any questions you may have regarding the Transportation Master Plan to sparwood@sparwood.ca.

From October 1 to March 31 between the hours of 6:00 am – 4:00 pm, please park your vehicles in your driveway.

Residents are reminded that:

• Parking on the street is prohibited from October 1 to March 31 between the hours of 6:00 am – 4:00 pm;
• It is an offence to push, place or throw or allow to be pushed, placed or thrown any snow or ice upon a highway or lane;
• That no advance warning is required under the Traffic, Parking and Highways Regulation Bylaw and the Motor Vehicle Act and offending vehicles will be towed.
• Please make appropriate arrangements for parking your vehicles.