The new Marquise de la Plaza Saint-Hubert is very expensive and requires no de-icing. According to municipal documents, to clean the city by hand, the city would eventually have to pay tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Authorities realized last winter that the accumulation of snow and ice in the brand new structure could cause “serious injury or death” to passers-by.
“Unlike the initial prototype, Marquez would not have kept the ice in place,” they noted in a document from the Rosemond-La Petit-Patrie Borough Council.
As a result, at the end of last February, during the first heat of winter, the city had to be hastily cleared of snow. It is a “subtle operation” and expensive because it is not possible to get workers in the construction, which motivates them to force snow from the nostrils at night. Only plastic or Teflon tools can be used to avoid damaging the large glass panels that make up the roof of the canopy.
Photo provided by confidential source
Posted in this photo Press, We can see the accumulation of snow in the canopy of Plaza Saint-Hubert.
The new market will cost taxpayers $ 22 million.
According to the document justifying the transfer of $ 90,000 to pay for two snow removal operations in 2021, until a long-term solution is found that “this will incur significant costs”.
For the next 50 years, this marquee should be between rue de Bellechasse and rue Jean-Talon.
The city of Montreal has actually called for tenders to find a contractor to confirm the contract for this winter.
A large amount of hanging snow
The old Marcus de la Plaza, since 1984, is too steep to stick to ice and water. But it had become a pigeonhole and was nearing the end of its fruitful life.
The city also wanted to renovate La Petit-Battery’s commercial artery, whose peak was far behind.
The first repair plan announced by Denise Godrej in 2017 was rejected when Valerie Blonde took office. In 2018, his management released the first CGIs of the new Marquee, which had an almost flat structure (with just a 2% angle) and was lighter than before.
In addition, the system does not need to remove snow because it can withstand snow up to 5 meters, Montreal promised in a statement to the media in March 2018.
This is exactly what Municipal Services explained to Mike Barande, president of the Local Business Development Corporation (SDC). In the interview Newspaper, He said he was skeptical of the claim and made his bookings to the metropolis about the possibility of snow accumulating throughout the winter without any problems in the sun. Said no satisfactory answer was available.
At the end of February, “an iceberg is overflowing[ait] Marquise is a good two and a half feet “threat of collapse,” Mr. Parente explained. “I was the one who called for fire and public safety. Called, said.
“There is a committee set up to study the best way to respond to this situation,” Mr. Barande said in an interview.
Quiet companies
The new Marquez Chevalier Morales in Plaza Saint-Hubert was designed by architects, Regis Code et Associates, Lateral and Stantech.
In an email, the latter restrained himself from mentioning that he had worked “from the conceptual preliminary design study carried out prior to our order and on the basis of parameters determined by the project partners”. Other companies did not respond to requests Press.
To city officials, the diagnosis is clear: “The original design of the awning did not put snow in place, but […] On the contrary, it prefers snow / ice piles to collapse during hot weather, which can lead to serious injuries and even death for passers-by, ”they wrote in a document to local elected officials in Rosemond-La Petit-Battery.
The city paid Eurovia $ 22 million to build and install the canopy, a much larger amount than expected. The plaza repair project will cost a total of $ 55 million.
“Whether it’s public roads, parks or the Marquise de la Plaza Saint-Hubert, Rosemond – La Petit-Battery is active in all its winter activities with the desire to maintain the infrastructure in its area flawlessly,” he said. In a statement sent by email to the new mayor, Franசois Limoges.
“We want to make sure the Plaza – an important commercial artery in the borough – is attractive and vibrant,” he continued. That is why we have awarded the Snow Removal Agreement to ensure the convenience and safety of the frequent visitors to the Plaza. ”
