Mccowan bus shelters took a ride and never came back
When two transit shelters vanish from the same intersection for no apparent reason, people who used them feel like they got the short end of the stick.
Except for a few hot days in early July, summer never arrived this year.
Some days it feels more like October than August, a reminder that cold weather will soon be pulling up to every bus stop in the city. And when it gets here, a lot of TTC passengers will be huddling in transit shelters to escape the bitter wind, if they are lucky enough to have one at their stop.
That’s not possible for riders who catch the bus at McCowan Rd. and Lawrence Ave., where shelters on the northwest and southeast corners were taken away in April and have not been replaced.
A reader reported on SeeClickFix that the shelters were used by riders of the McCowan bus, while shelters for people who catch the Lawrence bus at the same intersection were left in place.
“This is a very busy route, given that the Scarborough General Hospital is just across the road, and there are various other smaller apartments, banks and businesses nearby,” said the reader.
The Scarborough Town Centre is also just a five-minute ride to the north, which adds up to “a lot of pedestrian traffic at these bus stops.”
“This may seem like a minor matter, but for those of us who use the TTC, a bus shelter is a critical item, especially in the rainy months.”
We went there and found concrete pads on both corners where the shelters had been located, along with remnants in the concrete of bolts that held them in place. Status: Carly Hinks, who’s in charge of city street furniture, including shelters, emailed the following explanation: “The shelters were removed in April to facilitate construction. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances delayed this project. However, I have information from Engineering and Construction Services that work will commence at the beginning of September. We do our best to co-ordinate removal of these shelters for a short period of time, and I can confirm the shelters will be replaced when the construction is complete.” What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/thefixer or call us at 416-869-4823. To read our blog, go to thestar.blogs.com/thefixer. Follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.