Faced with the omnipresent dirt revealed by an early mild spell, Montreal will try to move forward with its big spring cleaning, indicated the elected representative responsible for the file at The Press. She called on Montrealers to show “a little bit of patience” while they organize everything.
The Plante administration is trying these days to obtain rental street sweepers earlier than stipulated in its contracts. She is also looking for a solution to clear the streets before the start of the alternating parking bans, on 1er next April.
“The trash goes out before the flowers,” noted Maja Vodanovic, of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, regarding the impressive quantity of waste that pollutes public spaces in the central districts of the metropolis. “The snow melted a month and a half before what we were used to. »
Freed from their snow removal mandate, many blue-collar workers were deployed to clean sidewalks and parks, sometimes by hand, sometimes with motorized vacuum cleaners. Certain equipment undergoes its seasonal conversion in an accelerated manner in municipal garages, she continued: “we want to transfer our equipment before the time”.
But the rental of a good part of the specialized equipment was to begin on 1er April only. This is also the date from which all motorists must clear one side of the street for one hour per week, in order to give free rein to cleaning work.
“We are trying to bring forward the delivery of street brooms to mid-March. We think it will work. We sure would like to have them now,” explained M.me Vodanovic, who is also mayor of Lachine. “We are currently thinking of measures to alternate parking. We’ll see if it’s possible. »
The official opposition at city hall is much less optimistic than Maja Vodanovic.
“The role of a city is to provide a service to the population: to collect garbage and maintain the public domain so that it is clean, passable and pleasant,” reacted in writing Stéphanie Valenzuela, spokesperson. of the official opposition on environmental matters. “For years, Ensemble Montréal has been asking the Plante administration to install closed trash cans as well as to extend the cleanliness brigades year-round and seven days a week. »
In the meantime, Mme Vodanovic suggests Montrealers take matters into their own hands on a small scale. “If everyone can clean in front of their homes, it would make things cleaner and set an example,” she said. It sets a positive example: it counteracts those who throw things on the ground. »
“It’s going to be a long month of cleaning,” she added.