Why condo building can be a dirty business
Trucks track copious amounts of mud on to pair of busy streets despite bylaw to keep it clean
Add mud — lots of it — to the list of things that must be endured to accommodate the relentless onslaught of condominium construction.
With the demand for housing in Toronto outpacing supply, the condo market is bigger than ever. And with the city running out of room for new housing, the only place to expand is upward.
That means condos are the answer, especially if you are building them. What better way to shoehorn 300 housing units onto a piece of land that used to be a gas station?
The privilege of earning boxcars of money from condo sales also calls for community responsibility, but you wouldn’t know it by the incredible mess outside two condo construction sites on Tippett Rd., south of Wilson Ave.
We were driving east on Wilson Ave., just east of Allen Rd., on Thursday when we noticed copious amounts of mud in the eastbound lanes, a sure sign that trucks departing a construction site were tracking it onto the road.
We drove around the area to figure it out and soon found two condo projects on Tippett Rd., that are responsible for the problem.
As bad as the mess was on Wilson Ave., it was 10 times worse on Tippett Rd. An inch-thick layer of soupy mud coated the street and was carried forward by every vehicle that splashed through it and turned onto Wilson Ave., a much busier street. We checked the exits of condo sites on both sides of the street and saw none of the measures that reduce the mud tracked out by trucks, such as a layer of heavy gauge gravel that allows them to wipe their feet.
Conscientious developers also use street sweeping and washing equipment to clean up mud left on the street by departing trucks, but that wasn’t done on Tippett Rd.
Acity bylaw prohibits fouling of the road allowance by construction vehicles and requires builders to clean up after themselves, but you wouldn’t know it by the mess on Tippet Rd., and Wilson Ave. STATUS: Kam Ma, acting manager of right-of-way management in North York, told us on the phone that he’d send an inspector Friday to remind the developers of the bylaw requirements and tell them to clean up the mud. 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.