Sidewalk weeds make people hit the road
People don’t like to be pushed around, particularly by weeds competing with them for sidewalk space.
All the rain and cool weather this summer is an elixir for weeds, which thrive even in drought conditions but seem to be bigger and more luxuriant this year than usual.
And since use of the most effective weed killers, like Roundup, was banned a half-dozen years ago, weeds have had it pretty darn good, taking over in places where they previously would have been poisoned.
But when they’re allowed to grow unchecked over the entire summer, some will become too big for their britches and start to muscle out everything else, including people.
We’ve fielded more complaints than usual about weeds lately, including an infestation around postal boxes in Markham and next to the sidewalk on the East Mall in Etobicoke.
But a photo posted on SeeClickFix of a startling crop along the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Plains Rd. and St. Hubert Ave. has persuaded us that this is an exceptionally good — or bad — year for weeds.
“The grass and bushes are always overgrown at this property,” according to a comment posted with the photo. “The bushes are now encroaching on the sidewalk and making it difficult to pass safely.”
We went there and found what appears to be a long-vacant house at the corner of Plains and St. Hubert, surrounded by long grass and weeds that are in full bloom.
Nowhere are the weeds worse than along the sidewalk on the Plains Rd. side of the house; they extend nearly halfway across the sidewalk and look like they will soon occupy the other half.
We watched as several people either skirted along the edge of the curb to avoid them, or veered onto the road to go around, while others had to duck to avoid parting them with their face. STATUS: The city has bylaws that require property owners to ensure that weeds, bushes and even grass are kept reasonable. This place would get a failing grade, so we’ve asked the right-of-way management department, which enforces bylaws within the road allowance, to do its job here. 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.