City vows action on sidewalk-eating hedge
A massive hedge on a North York residential street has grown too big for its britches, forcing people to detour around it.
The city has bylaws preventing impediments to pedestrians. Homeowners with bushes or hedges are required to keep them trimmed back to the edge of the sidewalk.
We learned first-hand about the rules a few years ago, when a complaint was made about a neighbour’s spectacular hedge, which had taken over part of the sidewalk.
After issuing an order to the neighbour to cut it back, a city bylaw inspector took an interest in two big, prickly bushes that stand as bookends at the point where our laneway meets the sidewalk.
Our bushes extended about six inches onto the sidewalk, just far enough for the inspector to write up a ticket that gave us a week to trim them, or face consequences that can include a fine.
We got busy with our clippers right quick, and made a point of calling the inspector to tell him we’d complied. And we’ve since been careful to keep them clipped back.
But it’s a complaint-driven process; similar situations may well go unnoticed until someone beefs about it to the city, or us.
Joe Perna sent us a photo of a massive hedge at the corner of Tanjoe Cr. and Green Bush Rd., near Steeles Ave. and Bathurst St., that has long been a thorn in the side of pedestrians.
He described the hedge as “growing over half the width of the sidewalk on the south side of the property,” adding it “forces one or the other of people walking in opposite directions to walk on the grass.
“In the winter and in rainy weather, the grass on the south side of the sidewalk gets muddy as a result of the city snow plow being forced to drive on the grass, destroying it.”
We went there to take photos and ended up talking to a teenager who lives there. He said he’d mention to his dad that the hedge needs trimming. Status: Just in case the young feller forgot to tell dad, we sent a note to Kam Ma, the area manager of rightof-way management. He emailed to say, “Thanks for bringing the resident’s concerns to my attention, we will most definitely look into this and take whatever actions necessary to ensure public safety in the community.” 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.