Montreal Opposition Wants Centralized Snow Removal

Photo: Montreal will open a centre to co-ordinate snow removal among its 19 boroughs following more than 30 centimetres of snow. (CBC)

From The CBC:

Montreal's opposition party is proposing to coordinate snow removal in all parts of the city through a centralized system it says could improve service and make it more efficient.

Vision Montréal plans to present its proposal at city council on Tuesday morning.

There is room to improve how snow removal operations roll out after storm days, said Réal Ménard, a member of Vision Montréal.

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My Comment: Centralizing serves rarely if ever produced cost savings or a better service. Best to leave these services at the local level, where everyone knows what is best and what needs to be done .... a perception that would be totally lacking from someone who is on the other side of the island.

Snow Piles Up In The Plateau

Faced with a $1.5 million budget shortfall, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough decided last month to scale back on weekend snow removal. (Dec. 13, 2009)

From CTV:

There was no snow removal over the weekend in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough despite the huge piles of snow left behind after Wednesday's storm.

Last month, the borough decided to scale back on snow removal in an effort to bring snow clearing costs under control.

The borough still plows snow on Saturday and Sundays, but it's not carted off in trucks until after the weekend.

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My Comment: It appears that money is not being managed well.

Montreal Weathers First Snowstorm Of The Season

Montreal snow-removal crews clear Peel St. after the first major snowstorm of the season. Photograph by: Marcos Townsend, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL – “So where’s the snow?”

Lise Gohier had come to the Plateau Mont Royal Saturday as part of a larger day of Christmas shopping that began downtown and had slowly drifted east.

Standing on Mont Royal Ave., Gohier, who used to live in the neighbourhood, acknowledged there was a time not so long ago – last winter, to be precise – when trying to navigate the Plateau’s narrow, snowbanked streets and downtown’s ice-sheathed sidewalks while carrying three shopping bags of gifts might be a way to get a broken ankle just in time for Christmas.

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My Comment: So someone is asking the question .... where is the snow?

Trust me .... more is coming.

It'll Take Four Days To Dig Out, City Says

Digging out from Wednesday's snowfall will be a chore as a N.D.G. resident on Melrose Ave. finds. Photograph by: John Kenney, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL – It will take more than four days to clean up the first major snowstorm of the season and city officials are urging residents to ease the clean-up by taking public transit Thursday.

If the snow tapers off Thursday as expected and the total accumulation is 25 centimetres as Environment Canada predicts, snow removal should start Thursday morning and take at least 96 hours, a city spokesperson said.

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Update: Quebec hit by first winter storm of the season -- CTV

My Comment: It was another typical Montreal snowstorm.

Montreal Snow-Removal Plans Unveiled

Ten major bus lanes in the city will be given priority when snowfalls levels are at or below 30 centimetres.

From CTV:

Bus lanes and snow-clearing routes will get priority whenever the city of Montreal is hit by major snowstorms, city officials said Thursday.

Ten major bus lanes in the city will be given priority when snowfall levels are at or below 30 centimetres. If there's a major wallop of more than 30 centimetres, major routes will be cleared for snow crews before anyone else is served.

The emergency routes include Notre-Dame St. east, Sherbrooke St. east, Henri-Bourassa and Papineau. There will be no priority snow clearing in west-end districts that include N.D.G., LaSalle and Lachine.

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Update: Montreal vows to improve snow removal -- CBC

My Comment: I live in LaSalle .... hmmmm .... no priority snow cleaning in LaSalle .... hmmmm .... OK .... hmmmmm .... ARGHHHHHH .... why am I paying the taxes that I pay.

City Outlines Plan For Better Emergency Snow Removal

The Montreal Gazette:

The city of Montreal has announced 10 measures it hopes will make any large scale snow removal less of a headache for pedestrians and commuters than what we experienced last year.

But being able to find out just how long it will take to get your sidewalk or street cleared isn't on the list.

"You know, last year I made a lot of mistakes telling people when exactly (snow removal) would be finished," Marcel Tremblay, the Montreal executive committee member in charge of snow removal, told reporters.

"No, I'm not going to say it for the simple reason that for many reasons I will not be able to deliver the goods and it's important that the citizens understand that they're a part, too, of our solution and that's why we have to work together."

Tremblay made his comments during a presentation of measures that will be taken should the city be hit with a snowfall of more than 30 centimetres (12 inches).

The measures include prioritizing snow clearing at bus shelters and sidewalks in the first 24 hours of a blizzard of 30 centimetres or more, as well as taking charge from the boroughs of the administration of snow dump sites on the island.

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