Parc des Amériques, coin Rachel et St-Laurent.
The only thing more ridiculous than cleaning a park with a polluting vehicle that has the capacity to suck up about 1 candy wrapper at a time is actually calling the thing a Madvac.
Photo du Jour – MadVac
Read more articles by Alanah Heffez
15 comments
my mother, on visit to Montreal, spontaneously exclaimed “there’s an elephant cleaning up the street!”
Nicely put, Alanah.
Only the portable, diesel-powered leaf-blower compares for ridiculousness!
mais c’a l’air tellement le fun a conduire!
I would say the namely is “madly” appropriate!
PS: Je nettoyrais ma chambre avec ca, hehe.
À peu-près aussi le «phone» qu’un «Bombardier» pour déneiger les trottoirs…
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La ville s’est royalement fait fourrer avec ça; c’est un employé qui en a eu l’idée, et ils ont fait faire construire le prototype par une compagnie. La compagnie s’est empressée de le faire breveter à son nom et tin toué, câlisse…
“Vacuums” technically are some of the less efficient machines men have ever invented. The fact that they haven’t improved their efficiency a lot in many years is probably an indicator that they never will. A person (seen as a machine) can easily (using very little energy) pick up anything that doesn’t weigh a lot using his hands, and even more easily using simple tools. So the obvious conclusion is that if we are going to use machines, then the more intelligent they are, the more efficient they will be. Vacuums are the dumbest machines ever, most of the energy they consume is wasted in sucking just air, and in my opinion they should only be used when it is strictly necessary. The obvious solution for this kind of garbage pick up is using people and hands and brooms and stuff, but assuming that we need to use machines (in order to justify the budget), what about inventing a machine that combines a vacuum system with more intelligent and flexible tools for garbage pick up. Any ideas?
I always thought of them more of a Snuffeluffegus from Sesame Street than an elephant… I think one ate my watch!
So glad to see this on the internet. I watched one go by my place a week ago… it seemed such a hassle to manoevre the huge sucking “snort” over a piece of garbage that the driver only tried to pick up one item per yard covered, leaving hundreds of pieces of detritus behind on the sidewalk, the space he supposedly had just cleaned. Insane. In China they sweep 4lane roads with twig brooms and do a much better job. In London UK, they have a wooden handle with a long metal spike at the end. Both are inexpensive, efficient, quiet, take no fuel, lightweight and effective. How can we get these loud dirty creatures off our sidewalk?
…while I agree, I also watched in amazement as the big, loud street cleaning truck went by my street this morning, picking up leaves and garbage rather nicely. The amazement came because there were still some leaves and garbage left when he passed by, so he actually backed up and went over again so that the street was clean. He also stopped, got out of the truck, and threw some garbage from the sidewalk into the truck’s swirling brushes. So my street is now clean, and I have a newfound respect for city workers.
I’m with Jasmin as far as the fun-factor is concerned! My guys do a pretty thorough job here in Rosemont but hopefully the next generation will be electric or at least propane-powered.
Er.. I hope that the machines are electric or propane-powered, not the workers!
I have to agree with Leanne, at least for most neighbourhood sidewalks, which are too narrow for the beast to manoeuvre well, based on my own observations. In wide, unimpeded areas (plazas?), I’m sure they do a fair job. Still, a bad energy-to-work ratio even then, and you’d think the maintenance workers union would be in favour of several guys with litter spears instead of these.
A couple of weeks ago I was walking up from the Vendôme metro to a friends house in lower Westmount, and as I crossed Claremont and turned onto one of the side streets, there was one of these snuffalelephants doing a random job across that side street from me – and the guy crossed the street and started rather precipitously charging up the sidewalk behind me; I had to step out of the way, off the sidewalk, between some cars, to avoid losing a shoe or something to it… (Actually, come to think of it, yes – there probably wasn’t enough suction.) “Hey, buddy, I gotta job to do, walk somewhere else” attitude on his part, I guess. (Coincidence? or maybe he read my “you gotta be kidding me with that stupid machine” glance from across the street?) Funny and creepy at the same time.
I’d be interested to know if any city councillors past or present had a relationship with the company that makes these paragons of inefficiency.
That’s pretty funny. Not only the name but how it looks. It looks like the Urkel mobile.I shouldn’t talk cause my car isn’t much bigger,
Drew
http://www.allianzmadvac.com
There’s two different company in one there: Madvac and Johnston. They form Allianz. The inventor, Mr Gabriel Sharky, made the prototype in is basement, and sell the idea to Montreal. Sincer montreal accepted, Mr Sharky start the production of the first 3-wheel madvac model. Then, the crew grew, and after a few r&d, they produced the first 4-wheel.
Later Mr Sharky owned the most lucrative company you ever dream of. He bought two different competitor, and start to build the ps-300, used by London in England, and the CN-100, a popular european model, both based on the same technique: Two little brush and a vacum system. (see the site for more details)
Then, with the help of the FTQ, Madvac sign an alliance with Johnston Sweepers, based in Chino, California. Allianz Madvac and Johnston Madvac are now associated.
Madvac est maintenant une moyenne entreprise qui génère des unitées pour les villes de New-York, Chino, Montréal, Chigago, Dubaï, Trois-Rivières, etc…
Allianz est aujourd’hui le seul a fournir des équippement sanitaire moins polluant et plus efficace, en colloboration avec Cummings Motors, dû aux réglementations qui ont rendus obligatoire un système d’échappement moins polluant pour les gros moteurs diesel, notamment en Californie.
Observer bien la photo, et vous verrez que les seuls coupables, sont les col-bleus qui massacre ses petites machines. Promenez-vous un peu dans le Québec, vous en verrez d’autres, beaucoup moins endommagés, beaucoup plus entrenues.
Sur ce, hey! Bonne journée!