Condo projects leave a muddy mess
Street sweeper merely spread the mud around, instead of cleaning it up
Building condominiums in a city that’s chronically short of housing is surely the Lord’s work, worthy of special privileges for developers. But does that mean Condo Kings should be given a free pass to allow trucks departing construction sites to track huge amounts of mud onto city streets, to stick to our shoes and splatter onto cars?
It seems the answer is yes, if the mud we all too often see on streets where condos are sprouting up is any indication.
Acity bylaw prohibits “fouling of the road allowance” even for knightly and benevolent purposes, like building 800square-foot warrens to sell to upwardly mobile young couples for $750,000. It requires specific measures to minimize the mud tracked onto the street. Sometimes a truck that washes and sweeps the road is enough. If it’s really bad, gravel spread across the exit helps trucks to wipe their feet.
Developers that are serious about complying with the bylaw will sometimes employ a guy with a water hose at the exit, to wash the mud off truck wheels before they depart. But they are rare, and betray their less fastidious fellows.
We were again reminded of the indifference to the rules last week, when we spotted a thick layer of mud coating Cooper St., a one-block-long street that runs between Lake Shore Blvd. and Queens Quay, after a brief shower.
Trucks were tracking the mud onto Queens Quay, all the way to Sherbourne St. to the east as they departed two condo construction sites, leaving a layer of dirt that turned to dust as it dried.
We spotted a street sweeper on Cooper. But there was so much mud that the sweeper truck could only clean up a small amount, and redistribute the rest of it.
Status: Andre Filippetti, who’s in charge of right-of-way management in the downtown core, emailed to say the bylaw “prohibits the fouling of any street. This includes the tracking of mud. It is the responsibility of the developer and/or its contractor to ensure that the public road allowance is clear of mud, dust and debris.”
A rainfall “would certainly pose a challenge for many construction sites around the city, in terms of mud and tracking. Nevertheless, I will send out a transportation standards officer to inspect and assess the area and ensure that the contractor is employing all necessary and reasonable measures to keep the roadway clear of mud and debris. This may include additional measures, such as the ones you have outlined.”
He went on to hit the nail on the head: “Unfortunately we do not, at this time, have enforcement resources to apply more frequent enforcement or monitoring for this type of activity.” Which is why most Condo Kings don’t try harder.
What's broken in your neighbourhood? Email jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter