Uneven sidewalk danger to pedestrians
A sidewalk with uneven edges is no big deal for most people, but can be a matter of life and death for seniors.
For those of us who are sure-footed, traversing a perilous sidewalk is done with barely a thought. We skip over it with no regard to what might happen if we caught a shoe on a raised edge.
But when you’re a lot closer to 90 years old than 80, stumbling over the sidewalk is much more likely to send the victim crashing to the ground.
Anyone who’s ever had an elderly loved one take an unexpected tumble knows how devastating it can be. In a worst-case scenario, it’s the beginning of the end.
Pi Wedge, who’s 87, says she is still getting around just fine, thank you very much. She has no need for a cane or a walker, but has to really watch her step on the in front of the North York Centre.
“There is a mixture of sidewalk pavers, smaller ornamental tiles and areas around trees where the land has subsided,” Wedge said.
“It makes walking there treacherous for anyone and particularly for older people.
“I can walk comfortably without aids of any kind, but have twice tripped on raised edges (fortunately without falling), and have to believe that others have not been so lucky.
“The strip of sidewalk closest to the buildings seems to be reasonably level, though not perfect, but from there to the road is a major hazard.”
We went there and found a large area of uneven sidewalk on the west side of Yonge St., just north of Mel Lastman Square. Many of the small paving stones have lifted and shifted, while others have settled in a way that cause them to slope toward the street trees planted in the sidewalk.
Judging by a liberal amount of asphalt patching, it looks like the problem was partly caused by excavations to get at utilities below ground. Slapping down more asphalt to smooth out the edges is a stop-gap measure that has already been tried. Unless the city has already budgeted for it, replacement of the sidewalk is unlikely to happen any time soon. Status: We’ve asked transportation services if there’s a plan to replace the sidewalk with something smoother. And if not, we’ve also asked if anything can be done to at least reduce the tripping hazard. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? 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.