The city has hired veteran traffic reporter Pierre Lacasse to take on the challenge of coordinating traffic in Montreal.
Mayor Denis Coderre describes Lacasse's new $100,000 per year role as a kind of spokesperson with some policy power.
"The fact that he's from the other side and he understands and has the sensitivity from his function in the past," says Coderre. "He also will have the capacity and power to make sure we don't make mistakes."
His responsibilities will be to coordinate between different bodies of public works, inform drivers about road closures, and advocate for them at city council.
Lacasse hopes to work with local officials to ease the pain of Montreal's long-term construction blitz for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Lacasse spent 28 years working as a traffic reporter for Astral, Cogico, Radio Circulation, coming out of retirement in Florida to take on the job.
"My daughter told me 'Dad, you should do it!" he told reporters at City Hall. "I said 'well, I will.'"