Twenty-two per cent of construction cones in downtown Montreal are 'useless': report

Construction cones are shown next to a construction site in Montreal, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

A new report by Montreal's chamber of commerce says about one in five of the ubiquitous orange construction cones in the city's downtown appears to serve no purpose.

The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal found that 22 per cent of downtown cones have been abandoned or are "useless" — down from 27 per cent in fall 2022. A survey of a downtown quadrant, spanning five blocks by three, recorded 501 cones, 111 of them unnecessary, a situation that "appears in line with the reality observed across Montreal in its entirety."

Montreal's seemingly endless lines of traffic cones have long been a running joke, to the point where miniature versions of the bright-orange-and-white safety devices are sold in souvenir shops as an emblem of the city.

However, the chamber of commerce has warned that the prevalence of the cones — many of which are not signalling anything — can desensitize drivers. In April, La Presse 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.

"Orange cones initially signal danger and call for caution; they should only be used for short-term work or on highways," the chamber's report, released Friday, says.

The city's administration and the province have committed to making the cones less visible downtown, including by reducing their size and forcing companies to remove them more quickly after work concludes. The report says some of these efforts have started to pay off, noting, "we observe the progressive replacement of ‘big cones’ and the addition of speed limits better adapted to construction zones."

While there are slightly fewer cones, the report authors said there's been little success in reducing the number of construction sites blocking access to downtown. Ninety-three per cent of downtown streets were fully or partly blocked at some point in 2023, the report says, a percentage virtually identical to the previous year.

One major street, St-Urbain, has been under construction for 10 years, the report found.

The authors noted that both the city and the province have made efforts to improve the situation; examples include the mobility summit held in Montreal earlier this year, and promises by the province to modernize the construction industry.

As positives, the report says Montreal's "mobility squad," comprised of a team of workers who inspect worksites and blocked lanes, has been given more funding and staff, and that the number of "non-conforming" work sites has declined.

But the report also notes that public perception on the situation has failed to improve. A survey of members of the business community carried out earlier this month says 85 per cent of respondents feel that moving around downtown isn't fluid, and 55 per cent believe the number of blocked roads has increased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.