The City of Montreal has scheduled its fourth city-wide snow-removal operation beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday. The city is asking residents who use street parking to please comply with posted signs to streamline operations and avoid towing. It is also asking everyone to clear sidewalks of clutter and leave garbage bags and bins on their own property. Vehicles should also be parked parallel to the curb, 30 centimetres away, with mirrors folded. Between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., 8,223 overnight parking spaces are expected to be available. Temporary parking restrictions will be lifted once snow clearing is complete. Residents are encouraged to monitor updates from their boroughs. The city says it has also upgraded its official mobile app with new snow-removal features that allow residents to follow operations in real time. Formerly known as Montréal – services aux citoyens, the app has been modernized and renamed 311 Montréal. Residents can download the new 311 Montréal app on Android or Apple devices, or update the previous version. According to the city, the redesign includes alerts and notifications for updates and emergencies, a real-time snow removal map and a space to report issues such as graffiti, slippery sidewalks or potholes. The City of Montreal is also advising residents to visit the Snow Removal section of montreal.ca. For safety reasons, always make eye contact with snow-removal drivers to ensure they see you, as they often move forward and backward and have large blind spots. Mayor issues mea culpa Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada acknowledged on Friday that the city has been doing a poor job of keeping streets and sidewalks clear. She said it was due in part to poorly maintained equipment. “I understand the frustration of the citizens of Montreal because their expectations are very high,” she said. “We need to have more people on the ground and better equipment and that’s not what we have.” Martinez Ferrada pointed, for example, to Montreal North, where all four of the borough’s salt spreaders were not working, and they needed to rent the equipment. Useful links
