Danforth Ave. sidewalks invaded by ‘giant cones’
What’s up with all those oversized traffic barrels crowding the sidewalks on a long stretch of Danforth Ave.?
It looks like an invasion of orangeand-black storm troopers, but for no good reason that most people could discern, especially since there’s nothing going on to justify them.
We’ve gotten two notes about pylons on both sides of the Danforth, from east of Main St. to west of Victoria Park Ave., with a reader asking why hundreds of them remain, long after construction of new sidewalks was completed.
Another reader sent us a photo of them, with two words in the subject line: “Giant Cones.” We were curious about why so many of the waist-high barrels — at least twice as big as a typical pylon — are still hanging on in an area with lots of pedestrian traffic.
So we checked them out last week and saw that at least four barrels surround each of the dozens of tree pits or cut-outs that were included in the sidewalks when they were rebuilt earlier this year.
Most of the tree pits have not been topped up to sidewalk level with dirt and mulch, making them a serious hazard if anyone stumbled into one.
Many are also filling in with weeds, including stout thistles, a pretty good indication they’ve been left un- touched since the end of winter.
Given that the city is putting on its Sunday-best for the Pan Am Games, and that the tree pits need only to be topped up, it seems like a no-brainer to get it done right away. Status: Steve Johnston, a spokesman for transportation services, emailed to say the contractor “will be returning over the next two to three weeks to install the new tree protection fences and complete planting within the tree openings.” Status: On June 24 we reported on planters along the sidewalk on Kingston Rd. filled with dead spruce boughs used as Christmas decorations.
Randy McLean, manger of the public realm department’s Beautiful Streets initiative, called to say they’d be removed and replaced with flowers over the next two weeks.
While we talked, McLean revealed an astounding fact: The planters were taken away earlier this spring when the sidewalks were rebuilt. When they were put back, nobody thought to remove the thoroughly dead Christmas boughs, he said.
We hate to say it, but how dumb is that? What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823 email jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.