Paolo Galleguillos is one of six inspectors with the Montreal’s mobility squad. The city initiative, rolled out by the city in August in three boroughs, aims to help commuters get around town more quickly.
While inspectors working the beat feel they’re making a difference, there are some critics.
“It’s working very well so far,” Galleguillos told Global News as he patrolled the streets of downtown in his mobility squad pickup truck Thursday morning. “A lot of people will be apprehensive at first.”
READ MORE: Record number of Montreal road construction projects causes traffic headaches
“They’re looking for lanes blocked on the roads of Montreal, and trying to fix the situation as soon as possible,” explained city of Montreal spokesman Philippe Sabourin.
Galleguillos and the rest of the squad patrol Ville-Marie, the Sud-Ouest, and the Plateau-Mont-Royal from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. checking for permit violations and operational issues on sidewalks, roadways and bike paths.
The mobility squad inspectors are authorized to give tickets, averaging about $400 per infraction, and Montreal police will get involved if and when those inspectors deem it necessary.
Just a few minutes after Global News joined Galleguillos for a ride-along at 7 a.m. Thursday, the inspector came upon a traffic mess on Réné-Levesque Boulevard.
A truck dropping off some construction equipment blocked two lanes. Galleguillos sprung into action, and the truck driver assured him he would be out of the way within minutes.
READ MORE: ‘Better late than never’: Montreal’s mobility squad takes to the streets
A few blocks away on Viger Street, a delivery driver was illegally parked and blocking a lane.
“You’re not allowed to be here right now,” Galleguillos told him.
The driver was forced to move. Galleguillos could have given him a hefty fine but decided not to.
“We’re not here to stop everyone from working. We’re just trying to make everything flow as best as possible,” he explained.
READ MORE: Pierrefonds residents brace for upcoming construction, road closures
Mobility squad members are equipped with an app that shows them the hundreds of construction permits in effect in their area.
A big part of the job is making sure construction doesn’t mess with traffic.
“One morning, they painted the lines in the middle of the night and they forgot to pick up the cones. They started falling all over the place and causing traffic,” Galleguillos said.
On Thursday morning, delivery drivers proved to be the more common culprit. Galleguillos scolded a mover who was blocking a bike lane and half a lane of car traffic. also on Viger.
“He’s moving now. He packed up everything and he’s going to another spot I told him about,” the inspector said.
With over 1,000 interventions since it launched, the city thinks the mobility squad is making a real difference. Critics say it’s not doing enough.
“The criticism is that there just aren’t enough inspectors,” said traffic expert Rick Leckner. They’ve picked some boroughs that are important, but there’s stuff going on in the east end of the city too.”
“Because we have such good results, we’re expecting to extend the territory of the mobility squad in the next few years,” said Sabourin.
The orange-coated crusaders are proud of their work, and they’ll soon face their biggest foe yet as the winter approaches.
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