Construction trailer mystery carries a curse
Be careful when complaining about the detritus of construction, no matter how legitimate your beef. Or you may be told to, uh, twist yourself into a pretzel.
That summarizes the advice Jim Conchie says he got from a construction contractor, when he complained about an abandoned construction trailer near the corner of River and Spruce Sts.
Drivers who get on or off the Bayview extension at River St. will recall that the intersection of River and Gerrard Sts. was obstructed for years by a big hole dug in the road as an access point for a water main replacement.
The job was finally finished about a year ago, but a graffiti-covered trailer and a portable generator used by a contractor are still at the nearby corner of River and Spruce Sts., next to the west side of Riverdale Park. Conchie sent us an email outlining his efforts to track down the owner and ask them to move it, which did not yield results.
“The trailer is covered in graffiti and the generator may have been vandalized,” Conchie said in an email outlining his efforts to find the owner.
Conchie said he started with the rental company whose name appears on the trailer. “The person I spoke to there told me that it was not one of their rentals and that it must be one that they had sold,” Conchie said.
He then called the leasing company that owns the generator and spoke to a helpful fellow who gave him the name of the construction firm still paying to lease it. He was also told to ask for a guy named Mike.
“I did so and got a very gruff male voice saying hello. I asked for Mike and got a somewhat angry, ‘Who are you?’ I then asked if he was Mike, and got the response, ‘If you’re going to be that arrogant, you can go . . . yourself.’
“That was the entire conversation and I’m not sure which of us hung up first.”
Conchie did some research and discovered that the contractor “has had, and may still have several contracts with the city. I’m certainly not impressed with their manner of doing business.” Status: We’ve sent a note to Toronto Water and transportation services, asking if they can figure out who owns the trailer and generator and get them to move it. And if not, maybe they should be told to go . . . themselves.
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