Montreal’s mobility squad expands to all 19 boroughs

Montreal’s mobility squad is expanding from patrolling six boroughs to patrolling all 19 boroughs of the city this spring.

The city’s mobility squad was created in 2018 with the aim of improving traffic flow by ticketing illegally parked cars and checking construction sites by making sure they have their permits.

Sylvain Ouellet, vice-president of the executive committee responsible for the city’s water, infrastructure, road network and electric services, said on Tuesday the squad also cleans up leftover construction materials left on the roads by contractors, as well as clear up confusing street signs and cones.

READ MORE: Montreal unveils new mobilty plans for downtown core

Ouellet said the squad will go from patrolling during weekdays only to patrolling seven days a week while serving the whole of Montreal, allowing them to act on all the city’s main arteries.

Their budget will increase by $500,000, totalling $1.4 million. Five new agents will be joining their team, bringing their total to 16. The city said they will also be adding a research agent to collect and analyze the data they collect while intervening.

The city says the squad will be strongly mobilized during winter storms to facilitate snow removal, with particular attention paid to the safety of pedestrians around metros, hospitals and schools, as well as making sure there are no obstructions on bike paths and sidewalks.

The city has not yet announced an exact date for their pilot weekend, for now just announcing it will be in the spring of 2020.

1:29 Montreal’s mobility squad officially gets rolling