A derelict forklift overstays welcome
You don’t have to stick a fork in an old, broken-down forklift truck to know it is done like a bun.
The wobbly front wheels are a pretty good indication it is on its last legs, and a likely reason why it hasn’t moved from a parking spot on an Etobicoke street for upwards of two months.
Susan Serena emailed to say the forklift has been a permanent feature on Daisy Ave., near Lake Shore Blvd. and Kipling Ave., since early December, where it is hogging a parking spot.
Since there’s no other construction in the area, Serena suspects it was being used for the construction of several new homes on Phlox Ave., near the spot where it’s parked.
To make matters worse, the forklift, which she described as an “eyesore and obstacle to snow clearing,” has no markings on it to identify the owner, not even a licence plate.
We went there and found an aging forklift with its two front wheels angled outward from the bottom, like the ankles of a child just learning to skate, connected by what appears to be a broken axle.
The only hint as to who might own it is a decal that says Masonry Contractors’ Association of Ontario; perhaps it was used by a member of the association to hoist bricks and other materials at job sites.
Three new houses on Phlox Ave., just around the corner from the fork truck, still appear to be under construction, but nobody was working on them when we were there.
A Google Street View image shot in June of 2014 shows a forklift truck parked on Phlox Ave., across the street from where the new houses are being built. Status: We’ve sent a note to Rick Helary, who’s in charge of area road operations, asking if the city has authority to order the forklift towed, and if so, how to get the process started. Update: Our Jan. 26 column was about a loose guy wire swinging from a utility pole at the corner of Queens Quay and Cooper St. It was unhooked from its anchor in the boulevard for work done beneath the sidewalk next to it. Mallory Cunnington, who deals with media for Toronto Hydro, which is responsible for utility poles, emailed to say the guy wire was reattached to its anchor within two days of our column. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.