We are the 1er March 2023, the day after a snowfall of nearly 20 cm in Montreal and the day of the first payment of municipal taxes. I am a walker. Every day, I walk the sidewalks and alleys of my Villeray neighborhood.
This morning when I set foot on the sidewalk, it had been duly cleared and it was pleasant to walk on. On the other hand, on the sidewalks of the east-west axis, the City had begun spreading salt and rocks. It was only a matter of minutes before the tractors began the north-south axis. […]
I wonder this morning if this spreading was really necessary. If we had had ice, yes, without a doubt, but there, a beautiful white snow that was not at all slippery. When I arrived in Montreal, in 1985, it was only in the event of icing that this mixture was extended, and even then, with a delay. Today, the norm is, if a little snow has fallen, that we clear it, then we go back a second time to spread the mixture which will transform the snow on the sidewalks into “mud”. What I saw this morning was a portion of my municipal taxes being extended for no reason. God knows they cost us all dearly, landlords and tenants.
This spreading was previously done two or three times a winter. It has now become systematic with every snowfall and, in my humble opinion, it is useless. As proof, the alleys, which are cleared by the residents without adding abrasive, are slippery only when there is ice or when the snow melts (which happens in the spring). The rest of the winter, the alleys remain white and it is pleasant to walk there. So, gentlemen and ladies of the City, could you ask yourselves the question and answer it?