Transit railings compromised
Rails on a TTC streetcar island on St. Clair Ave. W. are falling apart. Sturdy protection and quick repairs needed to protect pedestrians from vehicles
Waiting for a streetcar while in the middle of the street is more of a crap shoot than it might seem, when railings that protect people from traffic are broken.
We’ve written several times about the incredibly dangerous traffic island in the middle of the intersection of Lake Shore Blvd. and Bathurst St., where people who don’t make it all the way across are marooned while waiting for the next green light.
They’re entirely reliant on drivers paying attention and steering clear of the island, or else they could be mowed down, like the flimsy barriers at the east end of it, which have twice been flattened by vehicles since last summer.
Worse, the barriers put up on the island to provide protection are bicycle locking loops. A wall of chocolate chip cookies would be no less effective.
With so much distracted driving going on — texting or internet surfing while behind the wheel could be an Olympicssanctioned sport — people are right to fear for their lives while stuck on an island.
Our columns seem to have got people thinking existentially about their place in the universe, at least when they’re exposed to speeding traffic, judging by the notes about other traffic island issues.
Stuart Rogers emailed us about a raised streetcar island in the middle of St. Clair Ave. W., just west of Avenue Rd., where the railings that serve as barrier between vehicles and people standing on it are falling apart.
“The protective barrier at Avenue Rd. and St. Clair westbound was damaged months (a year?) ago,” he wrote, adding, “Still no repair. How shabby does John ‘Low Taxes’ Tory think our city should look?”
A lot happens on the mayor’s watch, and he has to own at least some of it. But we don’t think this has anything to do with Tory or tax rates.
We went there and found that the metal pipes comprising the barrier have separated in several places. If a vehicle smashed into the railing while someone was standing nearby, they could be skewered, like pork on a shish kebab. STATUS: The city’s street furniture division or transportation services is in charge of most issues at TTC stops, but the TTC is responsible for raised streetcar islands in the middle of the street. We reported it to the TTC and were told by one of its media people that they’re looking into it. What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter