Be careful where you park
Towing goes along with snow removal
The two-toned high-pitched horn of a tow truck isn’t supposed to be one of the most familiar sounds of a Montreal winter.
Jacques-Alain Lavallée, Montreal’s spokesperson for all things snow, said towing operations are all too common, and they slow snow clearing operations significantly.
“For every snow-clearing operation, we have on average 5,000 towing operations that we have to undergo,” Lavallée said Monday, a day after about 30 centimetres of snow fell on the island. “That’s the major stall-block for our teams, because the time it takes to remove a car slows down the entire convoy.”
For the remainder of the week, members of the public are urged to leave their cars at home, and to respect orange no-parking signs to ensure the removal operation runs as smoothly as possible. Lavallée also urged people not to park diagonally on narrow streets. Besides being illegal, this common practice is also dangerous because it hinders the progress of emergency vehicles, he said.
Seven of the city’s 19 bor- oughs started removing snow on Sunday night (Anjou, Côte-des-Neiges–NotreDame-de-Grâce, LaSalle, Pierrefonds–Roxboro, Plateau-Mont-Royal, St-Laurent, and Ville-Marie). Most boroughs have predicted they will complete their removal operations Thursday or Friday. Operations in AhuntsicCartierville, Sud-Ouest, and Villeray–St-Michel–Parc-Extension are expected to drag on until Saturday.
City crews must also deal with many water-main breaks given the deep freeze Montreal has been experiencing in recent days, Lavallée acknowledged.
On Monday morning, St-Joseph Blvd. E. remained shut between St-Denis and Drolet Sts., after a water-main break early Saturday.
Lavallée said water-main breaks are normal for this time of year, and they won’t detract from the snow-clearing operations.
A total of 2,200 trucks and 3,000 city workers will be deployed to clear the snow. The priority is to clear snow around hospitals and schools, bus stops and métro stations.
Newly elected Mayor Denis Coderre, who made improving snow-clearing one of his campaign promises, announced on Twitter on Sun- day he will be touring the city to ensure snow removal operations are running smoothly. He urged residents to let him know of any problems by tweeting him: @DenisCoderre.
Environment Canada was predicting a slightly warmer day Tuesday, overcast with a high of minus 10C and about 2 centimetres of snow expected. Low temperatures are supposed to continue throughout the week, until Friday when the forecast high is 5 degrees.