If you live in Montreal and you have a car, you know that dreaded feeling of hearing the snow removal siren — and then running out your door to move your vehicle so it doesn't get ticketed or towed.
Now that the snow's coming down harder, and with the city's snow removal season officially in session, here are the top three hacks you need to know to avoid getting ticketed or towed this winter.
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Find your nearest free overnight parking lot
There are 12 parking lots in five Montreal boroughs with free overnight parking between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
You can use this map or this list to find the one nearest you.
Here's where you're able to park in each borough, according to the Agence de mobilité durable:
Ahuntsic: rue Fleury between Chambord and Sacré-Coeur (22 spots)
Sud-Ouest: Des Trinitaires, north of de la Vérendrye (735 spots)
Plateau-Mont-Royal: Sherbrooke between Calixa-Lavallée and Parc Lafontaine (113 spots), St-Dominique between Bernard and St-Viateur (43 spots)
Ville-Marie: Notre-Dame Ouest between De l'Inspecteur and De la Cathédrale (36 spots), Mansfield Ouest between St-Antoine and St-Jacques (24 spots)
Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie: Boyer between Beaubien and St-Zotique (100 spots), 6th Avenue between Dandurand and Masson (17 spots), 8th Avenue between Dandurand and Masson (27 spots), St-André between Jean-Talon and Bélanger (45 spots), St-André between Beaubien Est and de Bellechasse (19 spots), St-André between Beaubien and Bellechasse (31 spots)
Download the 'Info-Neige MTL' app to find off-street parking and track snow removal progress
Download the Info-Neige MTL app on Apple or Google Play.
It tells drivers where off-street parking is available nearby, alerts you to the status of your most frequented side streets and you can activate notifications about the position of your vehicle.
It also has a colour-coded display of snow removal progress on different streets.
If you're more into surfing the web than using apps, you can visually track the progress of snow removal operations on this City of Montreal website.
Set-up alerts on the 'Montréal - Resident Services' app
The Montréal - Resident Services app allows residents to report city issues, such as poorly plowed roads and sidewalks, signs with errors, and slippery streets.
But you can also use it to get notifications, alerting you to updates on snow removal and traffic.
You can also use the app to find "fun" tips on signage for snow removal operations.
For instance, did you know that signs prohibiting parking from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. generally go up on the same day before 3 p.m.?
Keep in mind that information on signs takes precedence over information found on maps, apps or online.
If the worst-case-scenario happens, and your car gets towed, the Towing INFO System can help you locate your vehicle — either by license plate or by the location where you parked.
