STREET COMPLAINTS NOT ALWAYS HEARD

Road work may have been promptly completed outside Mayor Rob Ford’s family business after he met with city officials. But other Torontonians haven’t enjoyed the same in their neighbourhoods. From North York to the waterfront, Scarborough through to the west end, people claim to have repeatedly filed complaints to the city about clogged drains, chipped asphalt and crumbling sidewalks. Some say they’ve done so for years, to no avail. Vince Di Trani lives on Pleasant Ave., near Steeles Ave. and Bathurst St. He says the streets in his neighbourhood were ripped up two years ago to replace pipes and storm drains. But his stretch of Pleasant hasn’t been adequately resurfaced, despite numerous emails and calls to the city, Di Trani says.

“It’s got dents. It’s got cracks,” he says. “You get tired because nobody seems to care or do anything . . . Who do you contact? Where else do I go to?” Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, chair of the city’s public works and infrastructure committee, says there are numerous channels for people to report damaged roads and sidewalks, such as contacting one’s councillor or calling 311, Toronto’s complaints and service request phone number.

But because of the city’s financial constraints, not every complaint can be addressed on “an immediate basis,” says Minnan-Wong.

David Crawford understands that, but feels more can be done in his neighbourhood. Crawford says that through the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, he’s complained for years over the sorry state of sidewalks along King St. between Yonge and Jarvis Sts.

“What’s bad in Ford’s case is he didn’t just phone and say there were potholes. He actually had meetings with city managers. It’s not the same thing as phoning 311.”

Allan Stokell, who rides his bike downtown and has lived in Toronto for 40 years, says he’s never seen the city’s streets in worse condition.

“As a citizen of Toronto, I feel left out.” Alex Ballingall