Left-behind fence stubs pose hidden hazard
There’s nothing quite like a well-stubbed toe to remind people to watch where they’re going.
And if your bare toe happens to make contact with a rusty piece of metal when your guard is down, it will no doubt be an event worthy of hooting and hollering.
It’s flip-flop weather, which sure beats wearing galoshes. But flip-flops can be risky, if you wander into rough going and unexpected objects are lurking where they can’t be seen.
That describes a grassy area near a sidewalk on the east side of Bedford Rd., just north of Davenport Rd., where a small, deadly surprise awaits strollers in minimal footwear.
A reader emailed to say “I sometimes walk through a green space at Bedford and Davenport. There are two nasty, rusted pieces of metal sticking up from the sidewalk, maybe two inches, near the entrance to the green space.
“Someone will hurt themselves on these things eventually.”
We went there and located the two pieces of metal mentioned by the reader along with a third, all of which are in the grass near the sidewalk and anchored in small patches of con- crete. One is just inches away from a path leading from the sidewalk into the green space, where it’s a prime target for a pedestrian not keeping an eye on the road.
Nearby, we saw several sections of fence piled under a tree, with shredded caution tape fluttering from them. We soon figured out that the stubs of metal are what’s left of the posts that held up the fence. Whoever took down the fence clearly didn’t recognize the danger created by not cutting off the posts at ground level, so there’s nothing left to trip over. Status: The fencing borders the property of an apartment building at Davenport and Bedford, but it’s close enough to the sidewalk that it may be on the city’s right of way. Elio Capizzano, who’s in charge of right-of-way management in that area, said he’d send someone to take a look and see what needs to be done to get rid of the posts. 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. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.