Sinkhole makes drivers swerve on Coronation
Sooner or later, there’s going to be a traffic accident on Coronation Dr. if a sinkhole in the road isn’t properly fixed.
With thousands of kilometres of storm sewer pipes under city streets, it’s inevitable that stuff will go wrong and need to be fixed, often requiring substantial digging and resources.
So it is not unreasonable for the city to prioritize repairs, leaving things that aren’t a safety issue for later, while focusing on problems that will only get worse — and possibly dangerous — if not fixed soon.
The methodology used in their assessment is unclear. But there are cases when it looks like the city’s estimate of the threat has missed the mark, even to an uneducated eye.
That’s the situation on an industrial stretch of Coronation, east of Manse Rd., where a sinkhole in the middle of the eastbound lane is creating confrontation among drivers headed in opposite directions.
A reader who drives on Coronation told us she first noticed the sinkhole about five weeks ago, when it was surrounded by at least four pylons that forced eastbound traffic to veer into the westbound lane.
The pylons were later reduced to two, she said, adding she didn’t give it much thought until she rounded a bend while headed west and had to hit the brakes hard to avoid a tractortrailer in her lane, coming at her.
Given the truck traffic on Coronation, she said it alarms her that it has yet to be fixed, adding that the location of the hole — partway into a bend in the road — leaves eastbound drivers with no choice but to swing into the opposite lane. We went there and observed a steady stream of eastbound vehicles veering into the westbound side to avoid it, most of which were taking up at least half of the opposite lane.
We moved the plywood covering the hole to take a look and found it stuffed with plastic bags filled with dirt. In the short term, it may help to reduce the spread of the sinkhole, but it’s a lousy fix.
And when all those displaced vehicles are taken into account, it adds up to a situation that should be repaired right away. Status: Kazia Fraser, who deals with media for Toronto Water, emailed to say “staff have been advised and will investigate. We can provide an update once we have more information.” Let’s hope the fix happens soon. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.