It used to be that the appearance of bright orange no parking signs tacked on to existing signs was the only way to know when snow removal would start on a particular street. But last year, the city of Montreal added a technological component to its snow-clearing strategy.

The Info-Neige MTL app and website debuted in some boroughs during the 2015-16 winter season and is now available in most of the city’s 19 boroughs. By inputting your street name, you can see when snow removal is supposed to start in your area, right down to which side of the street the city plans to clear each day, and the addresses for the free lots available for drivers who park on the street. If you want, you can even arrange for an alert to be sent to your phone when your street is being cleared.

The app uses a colour code to indicate what’s going on. If your street is marked in:

• Red, snow removal operations are underway
• Orange, snow removal operations are being planned
• Purple, snow is being loaded
• Green, snow has been removed from the street
• Blue, street is still covered in snow
• Grey, information to come

The app is supposed to be updated in real time, but some users have reported finding kinks – streets that were supposed to have been cleared but weren’t and there is sometimes seemingly contradictory information on when a stretch road is supposed to be cleared.

The city says it is doing what it can to make sure the information is accurate, but take note – if there’s a discrepancy between the information on the app and the signs you see outside, the old school method always prevails.

The app is available through the App Store and Google Play, and the information is also online at infoneige.ca.

For more information about snow removal in Montreal, visit ville.montreal.qc.ca/snowremoval.