Déneigement, or snow removal in Montreal

Last week, we got a combination of ice and snow, but mostly snow. In total, we got around 30 cm ... everyone keeps assuring us that this is nothing.


At some point after the snowfall, an orange no parking sign appears on your street.


At this point, everyone scrambles to try to move their car to the opposite side of the street. This results in cars parked in every which direction, in snowbanks, etc. One of the most interesting aspects of this part of the process is that people need to work together to get the street clear of cars - pushing out cars that are stuck and making room for others to park. Still, it is very chaotic.


Then a truck with a siren and a guy on a platform comes by. We don't completely understand its purpose yet. However, we suspect that it is (1) sending the last call ... move your car or else; and (2) surveying the street for any potential obstacles.

Then, little snowplows come through and move snow off of the sidewalks and away from the curbs.


Then, bigger snowplows come through and move the snow into a mound which runs down the center of the street.


The world's largest snow blower (as they call it) sucks ups the snow and shoots it into a dump truck.


The dump trucks haul the snow to some central snow dumping location. We saw one in the spring when we visited. We thought it was either a landfill or a large hill with snow on it. It was actually just a big pile of snow - the size of several football fields.


Finally, the salt trucks come through and spread salt over the somewhat snowless streets.


The whole snow removal process is quite fascinating, really. In fact, many have blogged about it (e.g., Chicagoan in Montreal) and others have posted videos on youtube - which have taught us a very important lesson ... if you don't move you car, it will be moved for you via tow truck, or even worse, snowplow.