{"id":16181,"date":"2023-04-27T22:08:28","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T05:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/cones-of-shame-montreal-officials-vow-to-cut-down-ubiquitous-construction-cones\/"},"modified":"2023-04-27T22:08:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T05:08:29","slug":"cones-of-shame-montreal-officials-vow-to-cut-down-ubiquitous-construction-cones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/cones-of-shame-montreal-officials-vow-to-cut-down-ubiquitous-construction-cones\/","title":{"rendered":"Cones of shame: Montreal officials vow to cut down ubiquitous construction cones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"-\"<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

MONTREAL \u2013 Along a downtown Montreal street, in sight of city hall, orange-and-white-striped traffic cones stand in a row on the sidewalk. A few metres away, more cones mark off\u00a0construction\u00a0sites, while a solitary cone is perched atop a blue bollard separating the street from a bike lane.<\/p>\n

Montreal\u2019s ubiquitous traffic cones have become an unofficial symbol of the city: miniature versions are sold as souvenirs and toys, residents dress up as cones for Halloween, and a local artist has transformed one into a comic book hero.<\/p>\n

But while some Montrealers have embraced the symbol, the city\u2019s chamber of commerce says the cones \u2013 and the road closures that often, but not always, accompany them \u2013 are a source of frustration. The cones have become so common drivers no longer interpret them as a warning, Michel Leblanc, the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, said in an interview recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are desensitized, drivers are desensitized, it creates a risk,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily about reputation, it\u2019s about the fact that we\u2019ve become a city where cones are everywhere, and we don\u2019t pay that much attention, unless we\u2019re very frustrated because it\u2019s blocking the way where we want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leblanc said he\u2019s pleased with recent announcements by the city and Quebec\u2019s transport minister to make cones less visible.<\/p>\n

On April 24, Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault said her department would reduce the number of cones tied to roadwork managed by her department \u2013 an announcement that came less than two weeks after Montreal\u2019s La Presse newspaper reported that a row of orange cones had sat along the on-ramp to a tunnel in the city\u2019s downtown for at least 16 years.<\/p>\n

Montreal, meanwhile, recently announced plans to limit the use of cones and traffic-detour signs.<\/p>\n

Tania Mignacca sees the symbolism in the cones. Inspired by Japanese city mascots, and a desire to have people see the city in a different way, she created Ponto, an anthropomorphic cone mascot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to take the orange cone, which is something everyone hates, and I thought, I\u2019m going to make it so cute, that people are going to be able to love the city,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThe orange cone is perfect for Montreal because it\u2019s everywhere, it\u2019s kind of emblematic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Mignacca created Ponto around a decade ago as the subject of an online comic, her character has been made into plush toys, graced the cover of Christmas cards and turned into fridge magnets.<\/p>\n

Mignacca said she thinks traffic cones are a symbol of Montreal, similarly to how the raccoon has become Toronto\u2019s emblematic nuisance. And she isn\u2019t the only one who has turned the cones into souvenirs: the gift shop of the iconic Saint Joseph\u2019s Oratory sells a keychain with a cone bearing the city\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a Montreal chamber of commerce event, Guilbault promised that cones would be collected within 72 hours after work is finished. She said the province would also look for ways to reduce the number and size of cones needed on city streets.<\/p>\n

Leblanc\u2019s organization released a report in January that said 27 per cent of traffic cones in downtown Montreal weren\u2019t being used on active\u00a0construction\u00a0projects.<\/p>\n

While other cities undergo infrastructure repairs, Leblanc said there are other factors that make the situation worse in Montreal, including the fact that lanes on downtown streets are often blocked by\u00a0construction\u00a0companies using them for parking or equipment storage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense. In other cities, this is very, very tightly regulated, this is very expensive, so private companies use the city streets for a much shorter period of time and only when it\u2019s absolutely needed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Public works in Quebec tend to be done by smaller companies than in other parts of Canada, he said, which leads to contracts being divided into smaller jobs, which he said can increase the length of projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are good decisions,\u201d Leblanc said about the cone-reducing strategies. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that we could not have made them before, but right now, they\u2019re moving, they\u2019re making those decisions. And things should improve, that\u2019s my belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mignacca said she thinks reducing the number of cones on downtown streets is a good idea and that she\u2019s not worried the cones will disappear, making Ponto less relevant. The character has grown beyond its origins, she said, adding that she\u2019s heard before that the cones\u2019 days were numbered.<\/p>\n

When she first launched the character, she said people told her, \u201c\u2019You\u2019re going to see next year, someone promised us we\u2019re not going to have orange cones, so you\u2019re going to be out of work.\u2019 But it just kept growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a92023 THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n