Reader trips on utility cut, breaks arm

If a family member of someone responsible for a poorly patched utility cut tripped over it and broke their arm, they might finally see the light.

But unless tragedy strikes close to home, nothing will change with the utility contractors who wear the blame for the shoddy patches covering the holes they dig.

Those who read this column know that utility cuts are our biggest pet peeve, with good reason: they are the main cause of the degradation of our roads and sidewalks.

With so many buried pipes and wires, utility contractors constantly dig up our streets to service them, and fill the holes with a slapdash fix of a few shovels of tamped-down asphalt.

It seldom meets the prescribed standards for utility cut repairs, but the city’s ability to enforce the rules is limited to the inspectors whose job it is to keep an eye on them.

One inspector may be responsible for policing tens of thousands of utility cuts annually, which is about the same as letting contractors do whatever they want.

So when someone trips over a patch on a cut and is seriously injured, there is plenty of blame to go around.

Lesley S. emailed us about her painful encounter on Nov. 24 with a badly patched utility cut on Woburn Ave., near Avenue Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W., describing it as “so very dangerous.

“I was walking along and the next thing I was face down on the ground,” she said.

“I managed to get to my feet and walked to the little park which is very close to where this happened. I sat on the bench and tried to clean up my face which was bleeding.” One other thing: she also broke her arm. We went there and saw that the worst spot had recently been filled with more asphalt. It’s better than nothing, but not much.

A Google Street View image from last May shows the same area filled with asphalt, which had clearly deteriorated since then. Status: We’ve asked transportation services if or when the sidewalk will be rebuilt with concrete.

And why it can’t get tough with utility contractors. More on that soon. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.