Woodbine fountain replaced
Toronto’s parks department can be lightning-quick to fix a long-standing problem, when somebody lights a fire under them.
We wrote last month about an ultra-modern drinking fountain with a built-in bottle filling station, next to the boardwalk and right in front of the bathing station at Woodbine Beach.
Retired Star photographer David Cooper sent us a note saying the fountain had not dispensed drinking water since the 2017 beach season, except for the water that constantly dripped out of it.
When we got in touch with James Dann, manager of waterfront parks, he told us the fountain was at the top of the to-do list and would be replaced within a week. Cooper sent us a note the next day, saying the fountain had been replaced, nearly a week ahead of schedule. It confirms what we already knew about Dann: when he says something, he means it. Earlier last month we reported on a sunken utility chamber cover in the northbound lane of Manse Rd., just north of Livingston Rd., which a reader said has for years been a jarring surprise for drivers who don’t see it.
A second utility chamber, a bit further up the street, was almost as bad and also a candidate for repair. But we would have settled for getting the main problem fixed.
We got a note a few days after our column from Ellen Leesti, who deals with media for Toronto Water. She said that both chambers were scheduled to be fixed within a week, which has since happened. Another July column was about lane restrictions on both sides of Kingston Rd. — a major route in and out of the down- town core during rush hours — near St. Clair Ave. E.
One of the three lanes in both directions had been shut down for several months, creating lengthy rush hour bottlenecks. But there was no sign of any work going on for a month before our column, which frustrated drivers.
City officials promised us that all lanes would be restored within a week. It took more like three weeks, but all lanes have finally been reopened.