Here’s an easy way to avoid getting ticketed and towed during Montreal snow removal

Snow removal is underway across the island of Montreal and that means orange no-parking signs are popping up everywhere.

You could spend your mornings digging your car out from its street-side parking spot – and risk getting towed – but there is an easier solution.

READ MORE: Montreal transit buses, cars, trucks slam into each other in winter weather

The city is offering free overnight parking in 19 boroughs:

• Ahuntsic-Cartierville
• Anjou
• Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
• Lachine
• LaSalle
• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
• Le Sud-Ouest
• L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève
• Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
  Montréal-Nord
• Outremont
• Pierrefonds-Roxboro
• Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles
• Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie
• Saint-Laurent
• Saint-Léonard
• Verdun
• Ville-Marie
• Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc Extension

In total, there are 5,700 overnight spots in municipal lots and another 2,100 locations of free street parking.

The parking lots are plowed and many of them have over 100 spots.

READ MORE: STM bus pushes another bus up Côte-des-Neiges during freezing rain, snow in Montreal

The only catch: it’s only available overnight and drivers must leave by 7 a.m.

“The major stall block of the snow operations is the fact that we have to tow away cars,” said city spokesperson Jacques-Alain Lavallée.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The major stall block of the snow operations is the fact that we have to tow away cars," said city spokesperson Jacques-Alain Lavallée.

He explained every car that gets towed – about 5,000 each snow storm – takes about ten minutes, which can bring the whole convoy to a halt.

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It also comes with a parking ticket and fee for drivers, which often total over $100.

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“Even the Info-Neige app tells you when you can’t park, so there’s no excuse to leave your car on the street,” said Lavallée.

READ MORE: Anjou mayor blames City of Montreal for snow removal delays: ‘They’re dropping the ball’

Drivers who use the municipal lots say they’re the best kept parking “secrets.”

“When I know it’s going to snow, I just park here because, did you see the streets? It’s crazy,” said LaSalle resident Jane Dawsey.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When I know it's going to snow, I just park here because, did you see the streets? It's crazy," said LaSalle resident Jane Dawsey.

“This is the only option we have is to park because we don’t want to be towed by the city,” said Richard Akinbobla, who was heading to work.

READ MORE: Montreal snow removal crews struggle to clear ice after temperature plummets

More snow is in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.

To find out where you can park for free during snow removal in your borough, click here.