Saskatchewan has experienced record-setting snowfall over the last couple days, and as of 10:30 a.m. on March 6, 2018, Regina has seen roughly 35 cm blanket the city.

As a result, travel conditions have been horrendous, and numerous drivers have been getting stuck on roads and in parking lots all around the city.

The #yqr hashtag on Twitter has been littered with posts about the snowfall, some have praised people for helping other residents get their cars out of the snow, while others have been posting complaints about a lack of snow removal.

According to the City of Regina Twitter, snow removal teams have been working around the clock the clear the snow, but a lot of work still needs to be done.

The City of Regina has been continuously updating residents on their plans and progress on snow removal, but some argue that not enough has been done to get drivers’ vehicles mobile again.

On March 5 at 1:00 p.m., the City issued a 24-hour ban on designated snow routes so plows can clear the roads efficiently.

As of 7:10 a.m. on March 6, the City claims that category 1 roads such as Ring Road have been 50 per cent cleared, category 2 roads such as Elphinstone are 26 per cent clear, category 3 are at 8 per cent, and category 4 are at 5 per cent.

Despite the elements, the City was still issuing parking tickets to vehicles buried under the snow, until one Regina man spoke out for those affected.

On Monday, Josh Crosby saw a vehicle that was clearly stuck get ticketed, and decided to take it upon himself to spread awareness of the issue.

Crosby made a post on Facebook criticizing the City, claiming that it was exploiting the weather conditions. The post has circulated across the province, and has been shared nearly 10,000 times on the social media platform.

“Rather than taking a humane, understanding standpoint and giving people a little bit of a break in this [explicative]…they’ve decided to siphon money out of the pockets of those who have fallen helplessly victim to the weather,” Crosby wrote. “Tow trucks are beyond reachable, I almost dare you to try to call a towing company right now…there is legitimately no optipn [sic] unless a large group of good samaritains come to save you.”

At the end of Crosby’s post, he asked that residents share his message to pressure the City to cancel any parking tickets issued over the past couple days, noting that people are being penalized for the circumstances.

“I’m confident even those on City Council have had issues in this weather,” Crosby said. “Nobody should be paying out of [their] pocket for something that is completely out of their control.”

“The tickets may only be 15 or 20 bucks, but it’s the principle of the matter.”

During a live press conference, a spokesperson for the City was pressed on the matter. She could not comment on the process of appealing tickets for snowed-in vehicles, but said, “as citizens bring their concerns forward, [the City] will look into it.”

Crosby’s post brought those concerns forward in force, and it worked.

Following ongoing pressure on the City, Mayor Michael Fougere said parking tickets will cancel 117 tickets that were issued after 6:00 a.m. on Monday, and granted immunity from parking tickets until 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7. Those who have already paid their tickets will also be refunded.

Parking tickets will still be issued to vehicles parked on the snow route during the 24-hour parking ban.