'Wild West': Old Montreal residents say parking rules are not being enforced

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A community patrol group in Old Montreal is calling the situation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic a “Wild West” and is sounding the alarm about the area's parking restrictions being unenforced.

According to the group, enforcement is lax on weekdays and non-existent on weekends, often resulting in the closure of bus routes, delivery points, fire hydrants, accessible parking and general derelict areas, all of which create traffic, dangerous conditions for local businesses and pedestrians. .

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John Kennedy, spokesman for the Old Montreal Community Patrol, said that while tickets don't move vehicles, they do act as a deterrent.

“If there are five cars at a stop and the bus can't come around the corner … and you have to stop in the middle of the lane and block traffic, ticketing those cars doesn't immediately solve that problem. ,” he said. “But it's a deterrent because when you get somewhere and get out of your car and see the car in front of you or the car behind you has a ticket, you look at the signs or you think. twice. … That's all we ask.”

Kennedy said the situation was particularly dire around the Place d'Armes, where the pillars that used to separate the square from the Notre-Dame Cathedral from the street had been removed. He saw cars pull into the square and stop by the statue or across the street at the steps leading to the Basilica.

“It was that bad,” he said.

Kennedy also said he's seen a few mishaps in front of the basilica, with pedestrians wandering the streets without realizing it because without all the pillars, it's unclear where the street begins and ends. If pedestrians pull out from behind a bus or truck parked in a restricted zone, and their designated spot is invaded by an illegally parked car, drivers coming down Notre Dame Street won't see them until the last second, he said.

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“Crash happens, it happens, we've seen a lot of close calls,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy is calling on the city to put back the bollards and its parking agency, the Agence de mobilité, to start enforcing restrictions again, especially since the tourist season has started. According to him, he has not received a response from both of them despite several attempts so far.

The Agence de mobilité durable told the newspaper that it is aware of the concerns raised by citizens and is looking into them. Spokesman Matthew Furino said the agency conducted two surveillance blitzes in January “to better understand the current situation.”

“The agency will conduct new blitzes in the coming weeks to deter impaired motorists,” he added. “These interventions will also provide an opportunity to reassess the level of parking-related offending in the area and the types of offenses committed.”

Kennedy said he began paying more attention to parking violations last summer when he told agents he wasn't checking paid parking lots because of a lack of staff, which meant there was no one to patrol the area on weekends.

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“Weekends are the busiest and when we see the most problems,” he said.

Furino said agents are available 24/7 in all areas, but the agency has “limited resources” on weekends. He said resources are allocated by district rather than by sector, adding that “at the moment we cannot sustainably increase participation in this particular sector”.

“Given the level of visitation and high traffic in Old Montreal, our agents cannot be everywhere at the same time, and certain violations may be committed after an agent passes and before they return to that location,” he said, noting that some violations are more difficult to monitor.

Furino said the agency would like to move to automatic license plate reading “for better efficiency,” but did not provide a timeline.

Furino said that in addition to patrolling the area, agents also respond to requests from citizens to intervene. But in Kennedy's experience, that service isn't always helpful, especially on weekends. Agents come for some violations but not others, he said.

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Regarding staffing, Furino said the agency “evaluates the current situation and our capabilities,” but added that increasing resources is a municipal responsibility.

The city, however, said it is fully confident that the agency will fulfill its mandate.

“We are pleased with the additional efforts made by the agency in recent weeks in the Old Montreal sector,” said a spokesperson for the mayor's office and the executive committee. “We also welcome (the agency's) introduction of an automated plate reader. This initiative will improve the performance of parking agents and increase the circulation of cars parked in Old Montreal.”

The city did not respond to a question about whether it intends to install new pillars around the basilica.

Kennedy said the group hopes to fix the problems quickly with the tourist season starting so no one gets hurt.

“It's not against the car, it's not against anything… It's just, it's going to kill somebody,” he said.

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