Though the streets remain distinctly lacking in white at the moment, the City of Laval is preparing to roll out the fruits of its $25-million bump in snow removal equipment. The city said in a news release that the approximately 5,000 new illuminated signs helped to increase efficiency by 16 per cent, despite increased snowfall last year. “Laval is strengthening its winter response capabilities,” said deputy mayor Ray Khalil. ”With our new snow removal policy and significant investments in modernizing our machinery, we are equipping ourselves to constantly improve our snow removal operations and offer Laval residents a service tailored to their needs.” The signs display real-time parking restrictions before snow clearing operations begin and turn off when the roads are cleared. The city said it paid out 14 per cent fewer overtime hours to crews and reduced gas consumption by 43,000 litres. The city said 166 kilometres of streets now receive priority snow blowing and the minimum snow removal timeframe has been reduced from eight to seven days. The city says its fleet is worth $40 million, and includes the following new vehicles: In total, the city says its fleet includes 740 vehicles and 500 employees, in addition to private contracts worth around $20 million.
