City of Montreal begins spring cleaning operations earlier, injecting $6.2M extra

It’s time for spring cleaning in Montreal, and the city launched its cleanup operations just before the official start of the spring season on Thursday.

Crews were on the streets, picking up garbage and clearing sidewalks of salt, as mild temperatures allowed for the snow to melt.

In a park east of downtown on Wednesday, city officials told reporters that an army of street sweepers, sidewalk washers and workers with brooms and shovels will pick up what is expected to be at least 50,000 tonnes of trash and gravel.

A couple of blocks from the park, a scrubbing brush, flattened cardboard boxes and reusable bags littered the curb, providing a reminder of the task at hand.

Montreal mayor Valérie Plante was on hand in Hochelaga, saying they started operations earlier.

“Usually, the ‘Grand Ménage du Printemps’ starts on April 1 and we’re starting, actually we started last Monday, so this is great this is our way to say to say to citizens we’re trying to adapt as much as possible,” said Plante.

The city has deployed 27 sweepers since the start of the week, and the deployment of the other 221 vehicles is under discussion.

With the City injecting nearly $6.2 million more to enhance cleanup operations — $4 million from the City of Montreal will allow for an additional 27,000 hours of staff time for cleanup teams in all boroughs.

“Extra money and there’s a $2 million is just for the downtown core because we know there’s a lot of issues but we and this money will help boroughs to do more faster, to adapt also as we are doing it at the city center,” Plante said.

“One of the things I want to put forward is the brigades we’ve been using in in Ville-Marie for a few years, which really supports the work of the blue collars. They can go in places where maybe some machinery cannot go, trucks can’t go, it’s a good way to also go on local business streets, so we this this this new kind of a flying brigade will be available for all boroughs.”

In an effort to make cleanliness a priority, the city’s budget for cleanliness has been increased from $51.2 million to $64.3 million per year between 2021 and 2025. This increase is also reflected in the Ville-Marie borough, which is devoting more than $30 million to cleanliness this year.

“Cleanliness is important not only for our citizens, but also for the city’s international image. That’s why our Administration has made it a priority, and why we don’t hesitate to do everything we can to make our neighbourhoods cleaner and improve the quality of life of the people who live there,” said Maja Vodanovic, the councillor responsible for consultation with the boroughs and water on the Executive Committee.

But even as temperatures have been soaring, making way for the clean-up — there are still chances of rain or snow on Friday and next Monday and Tuesday — as daytime highs are above 0, but the lows are in the negatives.

“We have to stay agile because we know for sure in March we can face ice, rain, freezing rain, snow. So this is why we’re keeping many trucks available at the garage, so they can hit the road at any time. If there’s a freezing rain will be there to secure the move of everyone,” said Philippe Sabourin, a spokesperson for the City of Montreal.

The city says it’ll take four to six weeks to finish the clean-up.