Plants obstruct view of one-lane bridge
Trees, bushy weeds pose serious visibility problem for drivers trying to cross
When two drivers approach a one-lane bridge from opposite directions, it’s essential that they get a good look at each other ahead of time.
But that’s hard to do at the Sewells Rd. bridge, where trees and bushy weeds can prevent drivers from seeing oncoming traffic until they’re almost on top of each other.
The far northeast corner of Toronto is the last sliver of rural area in the city; farm fields and wood lots create the illusion that you’re in the countryside.
Development is steadily encroaching and will eventually swallow it. But for now, it’s a wonderful respite from the throb of the big city.
One of the quaint throwbacks in the area is the tiny Sewells Rd. suspension bridge spanning the Rouge River, built in 1912. It’s been altered from its original design, but still bears the weight of hundreds of vehicles crossing it daily.
David Wallace emailed to say bushy weeds and trees at the approaches to the bridge created a serious visibility problem a couple years ago. They were trimmed in 2016, he said, allowing drivers to better see oncoming traffic.
“Since then, the vegetation has grown back, even more densely this time, and the traffic hazard seems to me at the point where someone could be killed or seriously injured in a crash because of the obscured visibility,” he said.
“To solve this problem, there are a couple of trees on both sides of the river, especially on the west side of the bridge, that need to be removed entirely, rather than just being trimmed back.
“Trimming is a short-term fix that doesn’t really solve the problem.”
We went there and spotted a sign at the approach on one side that instructs drivers to yield to traffic headed onto the bridge from the other side. But a curve in the road, combined with the trees and bushes, makes it hard to see oncoming traffic.
It’s not much better approaching from the other side, where undergrowth creates the same issues.
Status: Edison Alexander, who’s in charge of area road operations, sent us a note saying “my staff will take a look and advise me of their actions.” That means the vegetation will at least be trimmed, if not removed entirely.
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