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 appear 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.

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