The condition of the sidewalks and the management of the snow removal work are causing great anger among many Laval residents.
Eleven days after the first storm of the year, many sidewalks are still inaccessible, forcing people to walk on the streets.
Several residents complain about the danger that such a situation poses, particularly for children, seniors and other vulnerable people.
Here are some reactions from our journalist:
“It’s quite complicated for older people. We are more fragile. It is normal. Even if we complain, I don’t think there’s much they can do.”
“It poses some danger to the public.”
“Vaillancourt was a good mayor. Everyone says he's a crook. Vaillancourt was the best mayor of Laval. Everyone says he's a crook. He cleaned the streets.”
Reactions from Mayor Boyer and the opposition
Stéphane Boyer's office responded to TVA Nouvelles that “Quebec's first major winter storm was difficult to manage due to snowfall, rain and ice and Laval was not spared.”
Still, the Laval government admits it needs to improve its approach.
“As the impacts of climate change increase, we must continue to better adapt our snow removal operations on roads and sidewalks and strengthen our resilience. We can do better,” she wrote to us.
For his part, the opposition leader of the city of Laval, Claude Larochelle, accuses Mayor Stéphane Boyer of not complying with the snow removal plan.
“According to Laval's snow strategy, sidewalks on our main arterials and collector roads should be completely clear 12 hours after the precipitation ends. Here we are not 12 hours after the end of the precipitation, but almost 10-12 days after the end of the precipitation,” explained Mr. Larochelle in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
“This is not acceptable. The city needs to correct the things it controls. We will deal with the temperature and climate after that,” he added.
For full explanations, see the video above.