Montreal parking confusion swirls amid snow cleanup

Confusion over parking restrictions may be hampering the city's snow-clearing operations, as drivers leave their cars parked illegally alongpriority routes.

As part of the city's Level 2 snow-removalstrategy, parking has been banned on some of the city's main arteries in order to keep traffic moving and allow trucks to keep the streets clear.

However, on Thursday morning hundreds of vehicles were parked illegally along Papineau Avenue, one of the six streets included in the parking ban.

Drivers who spoke to CBC News said they weren't aware of the parking ban, and assumed that once the street was cleared they were legally allowed to park.

Parked vehicles are prohibited until the snow-clearing operation is complete on sections of Notre-Dame Street East, Sherbrooke Street East, Crmazie Boulevard, Henri-Bourrassa Boulevard, Pie-IX Boulevard and Papineau Avenue.

City officials are meeting Thursday morning to determine the extent of the problem and the effect on the major snow-clearing operation that has been underway since Monday night.

In the meantime, a spokesperson for the city told CBC News that the city has taken the unusual step ofimplementinga "tolerance policy" for cars parked illegally on the six priority routes.

As a result, the citydoes not plan on towing the illegally-parked cars at this time.

Despite large snowbanks, city tickets cars

As the cleanup to this week's snow storm continues, thousands of streets are still covered in snow, including in the parking lanes.

With the buildup of snow, drivers have been forced to park up to a metre away from the curb.

Residents of a Lasalle street were outraged Wednesday to receive parking tickets from the city for parking more than 15 cm from the sidewalk's edge.

"It ws impossible to park closer than that. I parked beside the snow," said Paul Robertson, one of the residents on Compte street who got a $52 ticket.

"It is abusive, totally insensitive and ridicule to the extreme."

Montreal police say that anyone who receives a ticket they believe was unwarranted can contest it.

Director of snow clearing Yves Girard said the city will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the snow clearing operation.

He refused to comment on either of the parking issues until then.