You probably noticed the snow coming down pretty heavily at certain points on Wednesday. But if there’s a lot on your street, you’ll have to live with it for a while.
The city says it will not be launching its first big snow removal operation following the storm.
“We’re expecting 10 cm by the end of the day,” city of Montreal spokesman Philippe Sabourin told Global News. “It’s not a ton, so it’s not enough to launch the first snow removal operation.”
Instead, the city pushed the snow to the side of the road with plows and put salt down on roads and sidewalks. There will be no dreaded orange, no parking signs, and no big snowblowers spraying the white stuff into dump trucks.
READ MORE: Toronto snow removal operations ready for another winter season
“We’re plowing the snow, we’re spreading salt on streets and sidewalks, but there’s no need to launch the big operation to eliminate all that snow. It’s going to melt,” said Sabourin.
Temperatures above zero are expected this weekend, so the city is hoping Mother Nature will do the work instead. Sabourin told Global News it costs $1 million per centimetre to actually remove the snow.
“They’re assuming it’s going to get warmer and melt, which can possibly happen,” said Rosemont resident Sophie Paquette. “But look at these cars! There’s no place to park, I mean how long are they going to wait? What do we pay for? We pay for snow removal!”
“It’s nonsense to leave the snow there,” said Louis Doré, who works in Rosemont.
READ MORE: City of Vancouver says it’s prepared for any blasts of winter snow
Before it gets warmer, temperatures are forecast to drop into the negative teens. That’s why the city has the salt trucks out in full force on both streets and sidewalks, which is more than enough for some Montrealers.
“I think they’re doing a good job now,” said Armando Gomez.
Until temperatures rise, you may want to dust off the shovel, and be careful where you park.
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