This story was made in collaboration with Safe Software partner Consortech.
Streamlining snow removal, minimizing constraints, and simplifying dispute resolution
Located on Montréal’s North Shore, the City of Sainte-Thérèse takes pride in fostering strong relationships with its community and ensuring timely responses to municipal needs. Every year, the City informs residents on snow removal zones and permitted parking areas. Throughout the winter, parking is permitted in areas where no snow removal operations are planned. These zones change daily, requiring frequent and accurate communication with the public.
With the broad influence of social media and digital communication, fast and effective messaging across platforms became essential. Facing increased demands for real-time updates, the City of Sainte-Thérèse’s IT and geomatics teams sought a more efficient way to communicate evolving winter parking restrictions with residents.
Automating map deployments with FME
To provide clear, real-time updates, the City set out to create a publicly accessible map displaying permitted parking areas based on daily snow removal operations. Under a tight timeline with winter quickly approaching, the head of IT at Sainte-Thérèse collaborated with Safe Software partner Consortech.
Using FME Flow, the team automated the map-making process, providing daily updates without manual intervention. The project was rolled out in two phases: in Phase 1, FME Flow was used to extract and process data collected by public works supervisors. Under Phase 2, the team developed an FME script to automate the publishing of winter parking updates. Each day, winter parking data was processed and published in two formats; an interactive web map allowing residents to check approved parking areas in real-time, and a static PDF map for record-keeping, with daily email alerts sent to relevant personnel.
A solution to resolve winter parking inquiries
The project was successfully completed just in time for residents to access updated parking rules before the first snowfall. The web map quickly became Sainte-Thérèse’s most-viewed map, accounting for 96% of all site map visits.
The new system significantly reduced the volume of resident inquiries as the Communications Department saw a 50% drop in winter parking-related questions. Additionally, the archived maps could be used to help justify tickets issued for parking violations at municipal court.
In receiving timely notifications through FME, Sainte-Thérèse’s IT team could troubleshoot issues in real time. This quick response was critical during the snow-clearing period, ensuring information was published when needed.
By leveraging FME, Sainte-Thérèse successfully modernized its winter parking communication, delivering faster, clearer, and more reliable updates to residents. This project not only improved citizen engagement but also empowered City staff with the tools and knowledge to manage their data more effectively.
