Q: On Friday, Dec. 30, at 10:34 a.m., I received an email from the Info-Neige service informing me the street where my car was parked would be cleared the next day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Accordingly, I and most of my neighbours parked on the other side of the street, even though the permanent parking signs indicated the reverse. Saturday morning at 8 a.m. the tow truck started passing by, and after its third or fourth trip, one of the neighbours went out to question the driver. We were informed Info-Neige was incorrect, and we all had to go out and move our cars to the side of the street Info-Neige had informed us would be getting cleared. At least one car owner farther up the block was evidently not home and his car was towed. Given this experience, why does the city of Montreal continue to promote a service that apparently has little or no value?
John Ronald,
LaSalle
A: Info-Neige is supposed to be updated in real time as snow-clearing operations proceed, said Philippe Sabourin, a spokesperson for the city. He said eight boroughs are now using the application, and it is up to the boroughs and the teams supervising the snow removal operations to keep the application up to date when they plan clearing operations.
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Sabourin said, however, it is possible even though a street has been signalled for snow-clearing, crews can change their plans in the middle of an operation.
“People should know that the information is entered by the boroughs as accurately as possible, but for all sorts of unforeseen reasons, things can change.”
Among the reasons for changing the schedule are: equipment failure, difficult weather conditions and delays because of towing.
He said the Info-Neige information can be faulty, so it’s best to depend on the signs on the road. The signs on the road will take precedence over information on the site.
Q: Along Autoroute 15 in Blainville there is a luminous digital billboard that faces the southbound traffic. This billboard is so bright at night, besides being distracting, it is almost blinding. Who is responsible for regulating such distractions?
A: There are several laws governing advertisements along highways, explained Dominique David, a spokesperson for Transport Quebec.
Among them is the law governing advertisements along highways and the law governing advertisements near urban roadways.
There is also the Quebec Highway Safety Code, which says no one can install on private property anything that can affect the visibility on public roadways.
“The code has guidelines that says advertisements should not have animation and the level of brightness should not vary,” David said. “The sign should also not be brighter than other ads.”
David said there are technical guidelines companies should adhere to, but these are all only guidelines and can’t be enforced since the signs are installed on private property. She said generally if there is an ad that is distracting, motorists can contact Transport Quebec.
“In the case of Highway 15 near Blainville, there has been no complaint lodged,” David said.
She added if someone does make a complaint, the transport department will check out the situation and if supervisors agree the light is distracting, they will ask the owner to change the advertisement.
“Normally, the industry co-operates with us on these matters,” David said.
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