Cones of shame: Montreal officials vow to cut down ubiquitous construction cones

Montreal's chamber of commerce says the cones — and the road closures that often, but not always, accompany them — are a source of frustration.

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 construction sites, while a solitary cone is perched atop a blue bollard separating the street from a bike lane.

Montreal’s 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.

But while some Montrealers have embraced the symbol, the city’s chamber of commerce says the cones — and the road closures that often, but not always, accompany them — 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 Tuesday.

“People are desensitized, drivers are desensitized, it creates a risk,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about reputation, it’s about the fact that we’ve become a city where cones are everywhere, and we don’t pay that much attention, unless we’re very frustrated because it’s blocking the way where we want to go.”

Leblanc said he’s pleased with recent announcements by the city and Quebec’s transport minister to make cones less visible.

On Monday, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said her department would reduce the number of cones tied to roadwork managed by her department — an announcement that came less than two weeks after Montreal’s La Presse newspaper reported that a row of orange cones had sat along the on-ramp to a tunnel in the city’s downtown for at least 16 years.

Montreal, meanwhile, recently announced plans to limit the use of cones and traffic-detour signs.

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.