NDG woman blames city’s new snow-removal app for $118 ticket
Sandrine Campeau says the INFO-Neige MTL app never sent her alerts to move her vehicle
Instead, she got a $118 ticket last month during the first snow-removal operation in NDG.
“We parked our car and relied entirely on the INFO-Neige application to not get a ticket — and we did,” Campeau told CBC’s Homerun host Sue Smith.
The online application is a pilot project developed by the city of Montreal to remind people to move their parked vehicles. Available only in five boroughs for now, it sends an alert to your mobile device when snowplows are about to clear your street, and another to alert you once the snow-removal operations have been completed.
Campeau said she parked her car Friday at midnight, and waited for alerts.
“We [got a notification Sunday] that the snow had been cleared,” said Campeau, who then went to her car to discover a ticket for $118.
An ‘unfortunate incident'
Russell Copeman, the borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, said he sympathizes with Campeau, but says residents should not rely solely on the app.
“I think it’s unfortunate incident. The INFO-Neige application is a pilot project deployed in 5 boroughs this winter, in some measure, to give us an opportunity to work out kinks. It’s not foolproof, and in my view, it was widely reported that it was a pilot project.”
Copeman admitted that during December's snow-removal operation the borough had a delay transmitting information to the operating system, but said that the signs on the streets placed by city crews always take precedence over information on the app or website.
“The signage on the street always prevails. INFO-Neige is an additional tool, but it’s really not designed, at this stage in its deployment, to be the definitive tool to ensure that your car is not going to be towed.”
Campeau said she will not use the app again, and she will contest the ticket.
“We have officially placed in our non-guilty plea with the city and we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”