As of June, the orange cones will have to be smaller in size and they will have to be removed within 72 hours after the end of the construction sites of the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (MTMD) in Montreal, the minister announced on Monday. Geneviève Guilbault, who was passing through the metropolis.
Addressing Montreal business people at the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility indicated that a new directive will be issued so that “when possible”, site managers in his department to use more compact orange cones.
She also indicated that a policy will be put in place at her ministry so that after 72 hours of inactivity on a site, the orange cones are removed, even if it means putting them back when the site continues later. “I think we have a duty to set an example,” she said.
It should be remembered that last month, at the end of a Worksite Summit, Valérie Plante’s administration had suggested that a deadline of 12 to 24 hours be imposed for the assembly and dismantling of worksite signage in the metropolis.
Metal slides
Minister Guilbault also indicated that as of December, worksite signage standards would be modified in zones at 60 km/h or less to take into account the urban environment. The ministry thus wants to put an end to the uniformity hitherto applied in the zones at 30 km/h and 40 km/h in particular. “We are going to try to install metal barriers rather than orange cones to frame the sites. They are easier to install, are smaller and perhaps less visually aggressive than the famous orange cones, in the search for a balance between the need for visual cleaning and to have fluidity, but also to have the security aspect,” explained the Minister.
Geneviève Guilbault would also like the design of construction sites to be improved to adapt to the neighborhoods where they are located.
The Minister also mentioned the creation of an “innovation unit” to better coordinate projects with partners, whether the City of Montreal or private and public partners. “We each have our platforms to manage our obstacles. Back home, we have SGE-Interventions at the ministry. There is AGIR at the City of Montreal. Others have other platforms. So try to have […] a connection between these platforms to be even more efficient in the use of technological solutions. »
A “significant improvement”
The head of transport and mobility on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Sophie Mauzerolle, welcomed the measures announced by the minister. “We really feel that there is a collective desire to review our ways of doing things for the benefit of Montrealers, tourists, people who come to work downtown and people who work on construction sites,” he said. she commented.
As for the deadlines for dismantling construction sites and removing orange cones, “whether it’s 12, 24 or 72 hours, it’s still a marked improvement compared to what we had before,” she said.
The elected official believes that due to technological progress, it would be realistic to bring together all the partners, including the MTMD, on a common platform in order to better coordinate construction sites in the city.
For his part, the president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Michel Leblanc, was satisfied to see a “change in organizational culture”. “For me, it’s going in the very right direction. The issue that will remain—it doesn’t happen overnight—is this famous coordination. The ministry is sensitized and the City too. But so far, we have to admit that it has often been last minute coordination and, in some cases, not so much coordination. I feel like it’s moving. »