Special shout out to *海龙 Hailong's Vlog* and his amazing snow removal footage! Make sure to check out his channel (and all the other great creator channels in the description box): www.youtube.com/@hailong_Vlog
I'm originally from Montreal, born and raised; and moved to London, ON for a new career. I'll tell you that winters here in London can dump tons of lake effect snow (snowsqualls) off Lake Huron when we get a an arctic airflow from the northwest. The worst one was in Dec. 2010 where we received 100 centimetres of snow in 60 hours. It was dubbed "Snowmageddon". The city pretty much shut down. I will also say to my fellow Montreal friends to be gateful for the snow removal system Montreal has in place because London snow removal is useless. If we get a substantial snowfall with plus temperatures forecast for a few days after, City Hall will do nothing, that's right, nothing. Just plow the main arteries, but they won't touch residential sidestreets hoping the warmer temperatures will melt it and it rarely does. Driving on those sidetreets is like off roading because of all the ruts from vehicle tires that didn't completely melt then froze over when colder weather comes back. Throw in another snowfall then those street are even harder to drive becausr they're like skating rinks. London sucks at snow management. Be happy my Montreal friends.
It brings teara to my eyes. I thought I was the only one who enjoy so much watching the snow blower on my street. If ever I missed the moment as I was elsewhere , I 'm always disapointed ans a little sad. Some truck drivers are real virtuosos. They can drive backward for a quarter mile between two rows of cars and keep the 7 axles vehicule straight all the way !!!
I'm still amazed at what they do! It's the same machinery used during summer to build roads and in winter it's used to sculpt back the city from the shapeless heap of snow it has become. A feat that astonishes me each time.
I'm an American and I love Canada. However, I couldn't endure a Canadian winter. Montreal and Toronto are wonderful places to visit from May to September. Other than that, it's too cold and snowy (yes, they both have elaborate indoor walking paths. Still, you eventually have to go outside).
I guess in winter you can't visit a good third of the US then. In Montreal, we use weird garments called winter coats, boots rated for -40°C, plus hats, scarves and mittens. Toronto generally remains at +4°C and when they have 10 cm of snow, they call in the army. For real.
@@Annie59G I can't honestly remember. The real problem was they had reduced the amount of snow removal equipment they had, as well as their budget for it. They hadn't been getting the snow they used to get for several years, so were caught off guard. I live about an hour west of Toronto, on the edge of the snowbelt. Sometimes we get hit, sometimes not. I miss Montreal snow!
I lived in Montreal for my first 38 years and Florida for the past 30 years and I would definitely take Montreal winter storms over Florida’s summer heat and hurricanes!!
I share “John M” sentiments! I lived in DDO during my teens and for the last 25-years in Kansas City. I can handle Montréal’s winter storms, but not so much Kansas’ hot/humid, windy summers. And the risk of hail damage to cars & home roofs is always on my mind. And even though I and most all Kansans have never seen a tornado, it’s still concerning when I see dark, stormy clouds with lightning & thunder roll in.
Born raised in Montréal even though I’m 60 still love watching the snow removal crew it’s quite amazing 😳😱! Should see the video of the snowstorm of 1971 that was a humdinger
This was wonderful! I forgot we use to dump directly in the river, and indeed never heard the name Arthur Sicard before! I do think you missed a rather important and sad truth though - the number of deaths associated with snow removal. Thankfully safety around these giant trucks and tractors has greatly improved. I just took some time to try to find the statistics, but only found the individual incidents. While it seems that seniors have most often been the victims, the death of 21 yr old Jessica Holman-Price in 2005 really stayed with me - she shoved her 10 yr old brother out of the way before being crushed by the wheel of a loaded truck. I was horrified but not surprised. I remember in the early 2000s, I was making my way home after dark along Pine Ave (Ave des pins ouest), west of McGill university. In the section between Cedar Ave and McGregor Ave, I came upon snow removal trucks on both sides on the street, actually on the sidewalks, apparently on break, but with their motors still running. This avenue cuts across the slope of Mount Royal, and this section has no buildings and no passable space beyond the sidewalks, only a fence to my left and thick brush and trees to my right. Rule of thumb as a pedestrian, give the crews as much space as possible - switch to the other side of the street when you see them. I stopped dead in my tracks - where was I suppose to go when they are on both sides? In addition, this is a one-way and I was approaching the trucks from behind. I don't think it was very late, but I was a lone pedestrian facing the back of these trucks. I cautiously approached, wary that they could move at any moment and they would never hear me over the noise of their motors. I had to walk in the street to get by them. I managed to get the attention of one driver and signed to him my frustration of them being all over the road. While safety has much improved, deaths and injuries still occur. Many have been attributed to operator fatigue, as well as pressure to work quickly. It's been difficult to get the private contractors to comply. I regularly see the dump trucks speeding through residential streets, and I guess there aren't speed limits for sidewalks - those little tractors can move very fast (and cause a lot of property damage). Accidents occur because operators forget people may be around - a 16 yr old was killed in a Laval parking lot (north of Mtl) after his grocery store shift 2 weeks ago. All that being said, I am delighted to see the streets and sidewalks on my tiny residential street quickly plowed, and enjoy following the snow removal progress in real time on the info-neige app.
Grew up in Montreal now live in Vancouver. When it snows here, which is rare we suffer big time as there is major elevation swings and no snow plows. We had a snow fall this past weekend with 30 ml. Of snow. Unless you have all wheel drive and hood snow tires forget it. On the brighter side the snow barely lasts a week.
I remember back when, when it snowed, you still had to go to school even in a blizzard in Montreal. But in Vancouver, if even a couple centimeters falls, the entire city shuts down. Its pathetic. Schools, work all shut down. They have no way to plow the snow effectively and forget the side streets in neighborhoods. People have to pay guys with trucks and shovels in front of them to plow the side streets. If the snow even stays for a week, it becomes brutal. And the car accidents in the city. No one knows how to drive in snow.
During this ice storm, I was living on the south shore of Montreal. On my street in a residential neighborhood, there was about 10 inches of hard ice on the roadway, the equivalent of 100 inches of powder snow. The city had to use 30-ton hydrolic excavators equipped with ripper teeth to break up all this ice and loaders to load it into trucks. The city couldn't use normal snow removal equipment (like snow blowers) because the ice was too thick and hard. The following spring on the roadway, you could easily see the scars left by this operation.