Montreal parts ways with traffic czar after just a few months

MONTREAL – The man hired just a few months ago to become the friendly face of Montreal’s construction-induced traffic nightmares is gone.

Pierre Lacasse told Radio-Canada on Thursday he has parted ways with the city but he did not say whether he was fired.

“It was a contract that could be cancelled,” he said.

Mayor Denis Coderre hailed the former longtime traffic reporter when he announced his hiring last April.

Lacasse’s job was to help co-ordinate roadwork to ease congestion in a city that has become synonymous with orange cones and with traffic that is notorious for moving at a snail’s pace.

He also was to be a spokesman for all things traffic-related, offering citizens information about why work was occurring and how long it would last.

Lacasse said in an interview with The Canadian Press in early May he knew he’d become a ”punching bag” for frustrated citizens and journalists.