Chargement de la neige à LaSalle (Janvier 2021)
Lachine LaSalle Local News Nun's Island South West Verdun

Why snow isn’t removed as it used to be in the past in LaSalle, Lachine and Verdun ?

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Montreal has only launched one snow removal operation since the beginning of winter. If more than a dozen centimeters have fallen since this first operation in December, precipitation and weather conditions have not resulted in the 10-to-15-cm snow accumulation on the ground required to trigger another waltz of snow blowers and trucks.

Climate Change and… Strategy Change!

“Our strategy is no longer oriented towards snow removal” recognized this week Martin Savard, the director of the Borough Concertation Department (Service de la concertation des arrondissements), in response to a question during the 2022 budget public presentation of his department which is in charge of snow removal in Montreal.

The goal of the central administration is now to make walking and public transportation in the different neighborhoods possible before anything else. Clearing up the sidewalks is now a priority.

Chasing ice has become a new challenge because of climate change. Between extreme cold and mild spells, the combo of snow, rain or freezing rain make things more complex. “We are adjusting our strategies in favor other types of commute before driving” explained Mr. Savard, acknowledging that this is a change of course. Previously, snow removal plans were made, in Montreal like elsewhere in Quebec, for cars according to the director.

Snowbanks in a few streets ? Private snow – authorized only in some circumstances

This new strategy explains why snow was only pushed, compacted but not removed from the streets. Many citizens have been complaining about snow banks fattening up on streets with several private driveways. Created by snow pushed onto the roadway to clear access to residential properties, these snow banks are allowed as long as they respect the specific guidelines in LaSalle, Lachine, Verdun and in Sud-Ouest boroughs.

Several other Montreal boroughs prohibit this practice, while the rest have decided to issue special permits at a fixed cost ($50 per building in Ahuntsic-Cartierville) or at a variable cost billed per used square meter on the street.

How much does it cost to transport snow ? $2.75/m3 to $3/m3

With a total budget of approximately $135 million in 2022, snow removal costs are not negligible in Montreal. It is split between the City (about $80 million) and the boroughs. Last year, the average cost of transporting snow for hourly contracts was just under $3 per m3, a significant increase compared to the previous year. The 2022 goal is to maintain this cost at around $2.75 per m3.

Most snow removal operations are decided by the City, but each borough is also allowed to trigger two per winter, depending on its local needs. As Mr. Savard explained in his answer to our question (which you can also watch in the video available in French below), the first operation is part of each borough budget while the second is budgeted at the City level. 

While the borough of LaSalle confirmed last Friday that such a snow removal operation was not on the agenda, the weather forecast announcing a good snowfall for the start of the week could change the situation by triggering snow removal in Montreal.

Nouvelles d’Ici has been publishing local news stories in French since October 1st, 2020. As a non-profit, local news media managed by a team of volunteers, it has VERY limited resources. However, we want to make local news accessible to everybody living in LaSalle, Lachine and Verdun.
This translation of our article about snow removal is NOT perfect, but we hope it was helpful.

If you want to join our team of volunteers to help, please contact us !

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Karine Joly
Residing in the Bronx in LaSalle since 2004, Karine co-founded "Nouvelles d'Ici" with a group of citizens in October 2020. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief. Beginning her career as a local journalist in both print and radio in France, she also served as the Managing Editor for the "Cities & Towns" section of a major American dot com in New York. Prior to returning to journalism, Karine started a family and established an online training center for professionals in digital communication.