CTV News Montreal

Updated: Fri Jan. 13 2012 1:03:18 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — The City of Montreal urged residents to use public transport Friday in a bid to curb congestion on the roads, as several schools closed their doors and flights were delayed due to poor weather.

Environment Canada issued a freezing rain warning Friday morning, which was removed at around noon, but several schools in the Montreal area closed their doors due to poor weather.

A total of two to five millimetres of freezing rain was expected in southern Quebec, along with another five centimetres of snow.

Environment Canada said Freezing rain would begin early this morning in Montérégie and in areas north of Montréal and reach the region of Quebec by midday.

The City of Montreal has a French language website full of helpful hints on all of the snow-related issues that affect the running of the city, to see it click here.

Take public transit, city urges

After a difficult drive home on Thursday, the city asked residents to take public transit Friday in a bid to reduce congestion on the roads.

The city said it has covered 4,100 km of roads and 6,550 km of sidewalks since yesterday.

It is preparing for another clearing blitz this afternoon if there is more snow as forecast.

Schools closed, flights delayed

The storm, which also hit Ontario and made its way to the Maritimes on Friday, also led to several dozen delays and cancellations at Trudeau International Airport.

The following is a partial list of school closures:

• Joliette Elementary and High School
• Rawdon Elementary
• Vanguard Schools: Campuses in St-Laurent, Laval and Westmount.
• Académie Antoine Manseau
• Collège Champagneur
• Collège Esther Blondin
• école Les Mélèzes
• Collège Boisbriand

Comments are now closed for this story

JR
@ Mr. John
Why are you so nasty to SusieQ ?? If you don't like what she writes just pass her comments...I don't think she means any harm and it's not like she is talking to you personally, face to face. It's really poor manners to speak to someone like that publicly...I suppose now you will attack me ?

jayjay
Take the metro ? !!! I dont have $217.00 to waste on the fine !!!

arty
Guys, look at the bright side, in only 2 months this weather will be gone. Until then, enjoy the snow and stay safe!

mike
every heavy snow, the AMT trains break down or delay heavily. Why would I want to take public transport with that as my alternative?

susie-q mtl.
to Mr. John;- I see your point. I'm long winded & get carried away. Thank you for pointing that out to me. you are a mench. The weather outside is getting frightfully cold. I hope no one gets frozen pipes. Boy we sure did get a lot of snow today. Hire a student or two for shoveling. Tomorrow we are supposed to have sunshine in nice frigid temperatures. Get out your woolies & all your thermal gear Frost bite isn't funny. Been there. Thanks again Mr. John.Bye Bye to all from Susie-q.

Brian
This is what puzzles me. Obviously the buses will travel much more slower during a snowstorm. But why am I waiting over an hour at around 5:45pm? Due to the delays, aren't those buses that were scheduled for the early rush hour still be out there? But no buses on either side of the street!!

Lisa
Have we finally figured out why Quebec has made it mandatory to put winter tires on our cars? I have. I have also yet to see the roads be properly maintained with anti-slip gravel, sand and/or salt. It's always been a death wish to drive over 50 on a skating rink!

LorraineH
Snow removal is worse since the mergers. I remember living in Cartierville and driving through St. Laurent after a major snow storm. Their streets and sidewalks were cleared faster than most other cities. Now St. Laurent is like all the rest - a mess. It can take days for streets, other than major arteries, to be cleared. Snow removal signs are quick to go up but the actual removal takes longer leaving people with no place to park.

Getting from the street to the sidewalks, which are not cleared very fast, is also tricky as they plow the main streets and leave snowbanks for people to crawl over.

I understand there are more cars on the roads but after rush hour, when the roads quiet down, we should be seeing an abundance of snow removal equipment. Last night I didn't see or hear all this equipment on Cote Vertu (major artery) removing snow and snowbanks were still there this morning.

Ross
NO bus or metro where I live have to drive everywhere that's a big drag.

Chris
The city urges people to use public transport during storms. Great.

Monday my bus never shows up.
Tuesday the metro goes down because of a power failure - I'm 40 minutes late for work. Yesterday there is a power failure between Lasalle station and L-G. I'm 30 minutes late for work.

Thanks for the suggestion.

willyb
I think the mayor should take public transit for a month, just to see for himself where the problems are in the system. Dress very warmly Mr. Mayor, a lot of bus stops do not have shelters. Just wait for the bus, and if one comes before you have frozen to death...enjoy the long, slow, painful ride home, standing up, in an over crowed bus. You may be quite late getting home for dinner.

Alex in Mtl
I’m glad for the city’s recommendation… the rush hour buses are not that rushed…(1 hour wait for a 10-20 min bus line) and no snow removal crew in site. In last month’s mini snow fall I saw the side walk cleaning crew scrapping the asphalt out of the side walk, now that is needed where are they?

Mr John.
@Susie-q Mtl.....
"OMG"....PLEASE spare us your personel details...Contact the "CLSC" nearest you for help.
Sounds like you are begging via this format.
Your stray cats are your choice...so take the steps for their care and food and keep to the subject of the story. BYE,BYE....

susie-q Mtl.
Susie-q has arthritis. Can't walk like I used to. Hurt my toe. it"s infected. Antibiotic cream is working. My street & sidewalk have been plowed. No snow removal yet. I
have an aversion to crawling over snow banks. My hips & knees don't work like they used to even with glucosamine.I only joke when I have too. Yes I do need cat food. I have 5 & the strays depend on me.Fresh tracks in the new snow. The extreme cold is coming & I will be worried.Susie-q.Bye-Bye.
too. Yes I do need cat food. I have 5 & the strays depend on me.Fresh

susie-q Mtl.
Susie-q has arthritis. Can't walk like I used to. Hurt my toe. it"s infected. Antibiotic cream is working. My street & sidewalk have been plowed. No snow removal yet. I
have an aversion to crawling over snow banks. My hips & knees don't work like they used to even with glucosamine.

tom91
Even at 9pm, when streets were deserted, no snow clearing equipment in sight. I remember the old days when at night you'd see yellow flashing lights all over. Nowadays this sight is getting rare. They would at least spread a good amount of salt during the day so it would at least turn to slush. Now with the new admin, we barely get salt even during freezing rain. I dont ever remember there being so much white snow all over the boulevards, 1, 2, even 3 days after it snowed.

jennifer
how delightful of the city to recommend that we take public transit...what a bloody joke! i am a regular bus user, and with the first storm of the new year, i had to wait over an hour last night for my "rush-hour" bus (supposed to pass every 10-20 minutes) to show up.
beleive me, i was not alone waiting at my bus stop either.
so before the city starts talking nonsense and charging us more for plates for our cars, they should have a very strict talking to with the STM and tell them, if you're late, don't take a break, get on with it and take a break when you have time.

S Brown
I like how the city urges you to take public transportation in snow storms and the majority of them don't show up on time. Further more I'd like to see Tremblay take public transport instead of his chauffer driven car!! Stick it up your nose Montreal...

Mr John.
@Tom91...get a life and come into the 21st century...Whew!!!!
Read the comment of MJinHemmingford which is the best comment so far.

Robert, Granby
@Suzie-q -- Are you for real? Both your street and sidewalk have been cleared and you still don't want to go out?

MJinHemmingford
There are a lot more cars on the road now than in the 80s and 90s. Snow ploughs can't move in a traffic jam so there is no point in sending them out to sit bumper to bumper wasting our tax dollars out their tailpipes...

tom91
FYI - its from another outlet but you can read the sad story of collusion in montreal snow removal contracts here:

http://maisonneuve.org/pressroom/article/2011/dec/9/maisonneuve-exposes-rampant-bid-rigging-montreals-/

tom91
Really its not that bad. Its like 10cms. Time for everyone to put on their big boy pants and just deal with it. That being said, snow removal is a pathetic shadow of what it used to be back in the 80's and 90's. With 10cm of blowing snow it should have been plowed and salted as soon as it hit the ground. People seem to have a short memory, dont you remeber how nicely they once cleaned snow, even if it was 20 or 30cm. Whre are our INCREASED taxes going, where is the INCREASED gas tax and car fees going? To the capricious fancies of Tremblay and his main crony, Applebaum. What's more sad than this is how people just lie down and take it. Pay more, get less. You know who's not getting less? Tremblay, Applebaum, and all thier friends. They're laughing it up, giving high fives on a daily basis.

Mr John.
@susie-q mtl.....
HUH...??!! "OMG"...Your comments must be meant as a joke. I hope so.

susie-q Mtl.
I was supposed to go to La Salle W.
Mart for cat food as I'm dangerously low. Got my Gazette at 9.45 a.m. & decided to go out tomorrow when its freezing cold & sunny. My street has
been plowed. It's Notre Dame in Lch.
One of the main ones. Lugging my 4-wheel drive shopping cart over a snow drift doesn't interest me. I
wish I had a car. There is a pet shop down the street. Maybe Sami Solton pharmacy has cat food. My sidewalk has been plowed also. No
F. rain please. Susie-q.Bye-Bye.

private
At least the city of Montreal had some practice removing snow or should I say no snow, go to the lick. "maisonneuve.org/blog/2011/12/28/montreal-snowplows-no-snow"

Garn Chat Nago-Lal Bhai
Time to see if the city is actually ready and in form for the quick snow removal as they said they were very well prepared for when the snow hit.