One third of the snow’s been dealt with
Report Friday morning says about one third of the snow has been dealt with. Gazette says the city’s 311 line is flooded with complaints.
The reddit post that described snow removal as seen by a worker was read by a lot of people, as he notes in a followup. It’s important for residents to understand that the city is not screwing up and the workers are not loafing.
Even the Journal explains how residents – especially those with cars – are slowing the process down.
Blork 12:49 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
That Journal piece is a good one. It shows the amount of complications and effort that the snow crews deal with, and the extent to which clueless people are, well, clueless.
One thing it brings up is the delivery driver who slowed things down. I’m thinking, “but that guy has a job to do too,” but then I think it’s just a matter of him coming back in a few minutes after the snow in front of his destination address has been cleared. No? Maybe? Yes? If yes, then a bit of patience from that delivery driver is all that’s needed, but don’t bet the farm on him ever figuring that out.
Then there’s the woman on the sidewalk who stopped to look at her phone, thereby blocking the sidewalk plow. They even have a photo! The plow is less than a meter away, and she just stops and shuts down the operation. WTF? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SITUATIONAL AWARENESS???
jeather 12:49 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
Ok but the complaints to 311 are described as “more than 5,000 calls from residents, most of them complaining about illegal snow dumps emanating from driveways and parking lots deposited on city streets and sidewalks and blocking access” not “why is my street not done yet?” It seems entirely fair to complain about illegal snow dumps from private property.
The CBC podcast This is Montreal did their most recent ep about snow clearing through the ages.
jeather 12:53 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
Blork I have absolutely been surprised while walking down a sidewalk by a chenillette. If I have a headband and a hood up, much less headphones, I can’t hear one coming — people stopping for a moment on the sidewalk is pretty normal. (Also, one assumes she stopped before and then the plow stopped when it saw her, ending about a meter away, not that she stopped as the plow was already right behind her.)
Blork 16:23 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
I hear what you’re saying, jeather. Same has happened to me, but only on a busy sidewalk next to a busy street with lots of ambient noise. But did you see the photo? I see no hood or headband, and there doesn’t seem to be any traffic or other sources of noise. The chenillette is half a metre from her. Apparently she stood there like that for 20 seconds, which is a blink of the eye if you’re waiting in line for something but an eternity if you’re just standing there blocking a rumbling chenillette that’s so close you can touch it.
Here’s the photo: https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/45660_1430861d222c12-bcc3-44f0-84cb-55128ebce545_ORIGINAL.jpg
Kate 17:37 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
Do chenillettes not have a horn that could be beeped?
GC 18:25 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
Wow. It’s hard to believe she wouldn’t have heard it approaching, in which case she can ignore the horn just as easily. Unless she is actually hearing impaired…in which case the horn also won’t make much difference.
JaneyB 18:46 on 2025-02-21 Permalink
People frequently have earphones in. I’m sure at least half of people do. They are totally oblivious, staring always at their phone as they shuffle slowly along. There’s no horn big enough to penetrate their addiction.