Global warming changing winter cleanup, says City of Montreal
Executive committee says snow clearing crews not familiar with ice storms
The City of Montreal says it plans to make changes to how it manages its snow removal operations due to drastic temperature changes caused by global warming.
“We're admitting that the situation is exceptional, but will not be an exception in the coming years because more and more we're seeing this more often. Therefore we are adjusting in real time how we tackle situations of this nature,” said Executive Committee vice-president Harout Chitilian.
Montreal crews have already spread their third round of salt and abrasives, but it hasn't stopped hundreds of Montrealers from slipping on icy sidewalks.
“We are doing everything we can to address the situation. We were told that there was 500 people that were rushed to different hospitals across the city because of fractures. For me that's 500 more than the target which was zero,” said Chitilian.
Chitilian says crews are well equipped to remove snow, but not as familiar with ice storms.
He says the city will conduct an audit to see how the city can improve its operations in time for the next storm.
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