Montréal, May 25, 2023 – In recent weeks, the Agence de mobilité durable has gradually begun to accept citizen requests concerning enforcement of parking regulations, with the creation of a new customer relations centre whose role includes preventing and responding to reports of obstructions on reserved lanes or cycling lanes, to ensure safe, smooth travel for all users.
The Agency is now ready to take calls, to process all requests for response measures and to assign to its agents the monitoring of parking, reserved lanes and bike paths, previously the responsibility of the 911 emergency call centre of the City of Montréal police department (SPVM). Citizens who would like to obtain assistance from a parking agent or to register a complaint must now contact the Agency’s customer service directly at 514 868-3737. The service is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
The transfer of this service will ensure more efficient assignment of calls to parking agents and a more efficient response. By bringing together all services related to parking enforcement and obstruction monitoring under one roof – taking calls from the public, assigning requests and responding in the field – the Agency can fulfill its primary role of obtaining an overview of such requests and their recurrence. The outcome will be better decision making for the management of Montréal’s parking lots and reserved lanes.
In the past year, the Agency has stepped up its monitoring of obstructions on bike paths and reserved lanes to improve safety and traffic flow. It issued 742 tickets on bike paths from January 1 to April 30, 2023, compared with 459 during the same period of 2022.
During the new business hours, agents will also assist the public with issues related to paid parking on the street and in parking lots, as well as payment by mobile app or at terminals. Applications for permits to park on lots managed by the Agency can be made from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
It should be noted that such operations are currently in transition; therefore, wait times are possible during peak-traffic periods as the Agency completes the training of its team.
The parking and mobility monitoring and control unit has been the Agency’s responsibility since 2020. The parking agents working for the SPVM joined the Agency at that time. Under the framework agreement with the City of Montréal, which took effect on January 1, 2020, the SPVM continued to process some requests related to the enforcement of parking regulations to ensure a smooth operational transition of monitoring activities. More than 100,000 calls concerning parking were received annually by 911. The Agence de mobilité durable has expanded its customer service team to meet the new demand.
– 30 –