Waste management in Parc Ex becomes an issue at June borough council meeting
With Montreal’s traditional mid-summer moving day just a few weeks off, Villeray–St-Michel–Parc Extension borough mayor Jean-François Lalonde had some words of advice during the June 2 borough council meeting for families and individuals who will be on the move on July 1.
“I would like to remind residents and households actually who are going through periods of uncertainty, periods of stress, those who foresee or who are in a situation to lose their dwelling, that the City of Montreal has services for you, whether it’s assistance, sharing lists of dwellings, references towards organizations or legal help, or to help you, depending on the case, to prepare your dossier to obtain low-income housing,” said Lalonde.
Cleaning up Parc Extension
During a period for council members’ announcements, Parc Extension city councillor Elvira Carhuallanqui said a number of measures were taken over the previous month to improve cleanliness on the streets as well as in the back alleyways of Parc Extension.
She said sanitation inspectors carried out inspections, issuing 35 violation notices and six infraction citations.
“I am starting with this point because the requests that I receive, as well as the comments and calls from the residents of Parc Extension, remind me of the extent cleanliness has become a priority to improve the quality of life of the population,” she said.
Carhuallanqui also summarized what she did as councillor during the month of May. She said she paid visits to several of the many community groups and organizations based in Parc Extension, while participating in some of their festivities for special occasions such as Mother’s Day.
The organizations included Cuisines et vie collectives Saint-Roch, Afrique au féminin, the Table de concertation culturelle, the Forum de Citoyens Aînés de Montréal and Ville en vert. “I would like to remind everyone of the importance of citizen participation,” said Carhuallanqui.
Clarity on electric bike use
During the public question period, Guy Fredette, a prominent and long-time leader within the Montreal deaf/mute community, and who is also widely known for his service as president and secretary of the Montréal Villeray-Sourds Lions Club, got up to the microphone to raise questions about the use of electrically-powered bicycles on bike paths.
Fredette, a regular attendee at VSMPE borough council meetings for many years, said he recently questioned two police officers on the legality of electric bikes being driven on bike paths, only to receive two different answers.
Commander Salvatore Serrao, who heads the Montreal Police Dept.’s PDQ 30 on Pie-IX in Saint-Michel, said electrically-assisted bikes have a legal right to operate on bicycle paths, although 100 per cent electric bikes do not have that privilege.
“To be perfectly honest, there is admittedly a certain tolerance when we evaluate the level of danger,” said Serrao. “When we see it could be dangerous for youths or other persons, we will be very, very tolerant.”
‘It is forbidden,’ says PDQ 30 chief
While he wouldn’t speculate on why two different police officers might not provide the same answer, Serrao added regarding the law itself, “If we look purely at the law, it is forbidden.”
Referring to small electric vehicles generally, Serrao said a distinction has to be made between unpowered scooters, electric scooters and the many other small electric conveyances that have come onto the market in recent years.
“We really have to analyze the vehicle that’s in front of us and decide what situation we are dealing with,” he continued. “So, it’s difficult for me to answer you by saying that all electric vehicles have no right. It depends on what’s in front of us.”
Regarding the wearing of protective helmets, Serrao acknowledged that the law isn’t consistent with all the different types of small electric vehicles, because “some are obliged to wear a helmet, while others are not.”
For example, non-electric scooters do not require the user to wear a helmet, he said, although it is mandatory with electric scooters. “So, it’s question of seeing. When we intervene with someone, we look at the regulations to know what we have before us, and we decide.”
Keeping Parc Extension clean
Also during the public question period, Stéphane Doucet of Parc Extension raised questions about the use of public waste bins throughout Parc Ex, while saying he was pleased to hear Councillor Carhuallanqui talking about the issue of cleanliness in Parc Extension.
Doucet, who has lived near the corner of Durocher St. and Ball Ave. for around eight years, said he was happy borough inspectors recently made the rounds of problem spots in the area.
“Yet the reality is that it continues to be a problem,” he said. He asked whether the borough is ready to release more funds to hire additional blue-collar workers. He said he also wanted to know whether the borough is empowered to pass a by-law to deal with the enforcement of the cleanliness obligations of property owners.
Needed: more waste bins
Mayor Lalonde said borough officials were aware of a lack of waste disposal bins. Marco St-Pierre, the borough’s director of public works, said the borough hired more inspectors and blue-collar workers this spring to boost the borough’s cleanup capacity.
“We agree with you completely that we see certain areas that we know well in the sector of Parc Extension where we have to constantly keep repeating the message to owners and it’s a challenge,” said St-Pierre.
