That's snow biz

There are several sepia-toned photos of hearty, mutton-chopped work gangs wielding shovels and wheelbarrows as they clear a veritable mountain of snow from Victorian Montreal's cobble-stoned streets. It was a huge job that could take weeks to complete — if ever completed at all. Some of the snow was hauled away in horse-drawn wagons, but a lot ended up shovelled to the side, just enough for traffic to get through. In those days, winter in Montreal meant long months of going about your business between towering snow banks on either side of the street. Clear sidewalks were a luxury reserved for only the principal thoroughfares, and the only truly reliable form of snow removal was the advent of spring.

Now, in the computer age, we have sleek, efficient machines to haul away the snow, all of them coordinated online by dispatchers, and we are able to clear our streets of the annoying white stuff in a time frame that would make our great-grandparents swoon with disbelief. It is not perfect, of course, for even these machines are ultimately at the mercy of municipal budgets, labour unions, and Mother Nature. These three fundamental elements often work harmoniously, but if any one should falter, our streets are left in chaos and citizens bear the brunt of the inconvenience.

This year, there have been complaints of inefficient snow-clearing in Westmount by motorists. Even those who use hassle-free public transportation to get around are not immune from the delays. For the first few days after a blizzard, commuters are forced to board busses by climbing over waist-high banks left by passing ploughs. This can be a dangerous manoeuvre for the reasonably athletic, but for the elderly it is a blatant hazard.

The system is currently out of whack — we all know that — but everyone involved is doing their best under trying circumstances. Westmount's Public Works department is doing an admirable job, though admittedly far from the efficiency of previous winters, when we were not hit by three large snowfalls in a row.

Given the current problems inherent to the snow-clearing operations across the island, we should be grateful that the streets are cleared within a week of the latest storm, never mind complaining after just a few days. Our forefathers would laugh at us and point out just how easy we have it.