Battered utility box an eyesore
Kleinburg is a friendly place, but a derelict utility box that’s disgraced its main drag for too long has worn out its welcome.
Life is good in Kleinburg, a rural area within the city of Vaughan. Residents are a short drive away from the urban jungle but can come home to a bucolic village, where people know their neighbours.
Many are also familiar with a large utility cabinet in the middle of the tiny business district on Islington Ave., a jury-rigged eyesore that has never been properly fixed.
Kathryn Angus emailed to say she is long past being fed up with the faded green metal box, with temporary wiring that runs out of it and into a nearby tree.
“I have been a resident of Kleinburg for 10 years now, and this is a ‘vision’ we have been treated to for that whole period of time,” said Angus, who also sent us photos of the box.
“It has looked like this over the years, and when Bell has been phoned it is always another department that would handle this sort of thing, then one is put on hold until one finally gives up.”
We went there and found the derelict cabinet right next to a smaller brown pedestal box with Bell Canada markings; it would be easy to conclude that the damaged cabinet also belongs to Bell. But we couldn’t find anything on the cabinet — inside or out — to identify the owner. And the stuff inside didn’t look like phone equipment, not that we’re an expert. Status: We asked Bell to check it out. Atechnician went there Monday and copied us a note saying, “I took a look at this cabinet and it is a cable TV box with TV temp (wiring) coming out of it,” and not Bell’s. Since Rogers Communications is big in the cable TV business, we sent it a note asking if it can check it out and fix it, if it’s theirs. Update: Our Feb. 17 column was about two ancient Bell utility poles in an Etobicoke backyard that were leaning and looked like they’d fall down. The new homeowner asked Bell to move the poles out of their yard, but was told they’d have to pay. Bell told us it never occupies private property unless it has permission. The homeowner emailed us to say Bell has agreed to move the poles to municipal property and will not charge them for it. 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 email jlakey@thestar.ca. To read our blog, go to thestar.com/news/the_fixer. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.