Enough with obstacle courses of danger
Big number: 614, the number of active restrictions on Toronto streets caused by construction and other activities this past Sunday, with 133 of them classified as major.
I was walking up Parliament Street a few weeks back when I encountered my most hated type of Toronto signage: “Sidewalk Closed — Pedestrians Use Other Sidewalk.”
These signs, found frequently at construction sites, are a scourge for pedestrians, turning the city into the world’s least fun obstacle course. They show up with little advance warning, and the suggestion that people just “use other sidewalk” is often easier said than done.
For example, as I stood there on Parliament Street, near a construction site for a condo promising potential residents “a neighbourhood of authentic charm and understated community” and also an on-site pet spa, obeying the sign and using the sidewalk on the other side of the street would have meant doubling back a couple of hundred metres and waiting for a traffic light to change. Call me reckless, but I wasn’t going to do that — instead, I stepped into the road and bypassed the closed section of sidewalk.
A couple of days later, my nemesis the “Sidewalk Closed” sign confronted me again. This time it was on Jarvis Street, underneath the rail overpass. Here the sign presented itself as a kind of unsolvable riddle, as the sidewalks on both sides of the street were blocked by construction. Obeying the “Use Other Sidewalk” directive would have me ping-ponging between sides of the road, endlessly, forever. In the end, I just risked walking through the construction site.
Forgive me if this sounds like whining, but I’m tired of this. I get that construction is an unavoidable reality in this city, but the lack of care for safety at a lot of construction sites makes getting around this city more frustrating and dangerous than it should be.
And I say that as a relatively young person with no major disabilities. Navigating some of the sidewalk closings or obstructions I’ve seen this summer in a wheelchair, or with a stroller, or just as someone who isn’t entirely steady on their feet, would be nearly impossible.
Cyclists face similar frustrations with construction sites. The dreaded “Bike Lane Closed — Cyclists Merge With Traffic” sign might as well read “Time To Risk Your Life.” And, of course, construction sites draw lots of heavy trucks, which can be deadly for those travelling on two wheels, like the city saw last month with the tragic death of Miguel Joshua Escanan who was hit by the driver of a cement truck just north of the construction site at Avenue Road and Bloor Street.
Something needs to change, because there’s no indication the amount of construction in this city will ever decrease. The average number of permits issued monthly for crews to tear up sidewalks and streets to install or service underground cables, gas lines and watermains has increased by 12 per cent this year. This past weekend, the city was reporting 614 road restrictions due to construction, with 166 of them classified as major restrictions.
And residential condo construction will continue to impact streets and sidewalks.
Over the next couple of weeks, community councils at Toronto city hall will consider approving six new proposals for construction staging areas for residential development, with lane and sidewalk closures lasting anywhere from six months to 39 months.
These closures can represent a bit of a windfall for city hall. The city expects to receive an average of about $15,700 per month in road occupancy permit fees from these six construction projects, if their staging plans are approved. One project alone — a proposal to build an eight-storey retirement home on Laird Drive in North York, which will close a sidewalk for more than three years — is expected to bring in $745,061 in fees paid to the city.
But that money doesn’t do anything to ease the frustration — and sometimes danger — I feel when I run into an obstructed sidewalk. So here are some ideas.
First, step up inspections. The city makes applicants provide detailed plans for sidewalk and road closures, but the reality on the street often doesn’t reflect those plans. Get tough and issue big fines for behaviour that runs contrary to the city’s Vision Zero efforts to keep streets safe for vulnerable users. Publicize the results of inspections and details on any warnings or fines issued.
Second, require every construction site to post prominent signage indicating easy ways for people to lodge complaints about unsafe sites. Don’t just tell us to call 311.
And third, you know those “Sidewalk Closed” signs? Ban them. I don’t accept that construction sometimes requires outright blocking pedestrians. Detours are always a possibility, even if it means commandeering a car lane for a makeshift sidewalk. Safe passage for pedestrians should always be the priority, and it’s time to stop accepting excuses. We can build this city without building death traps.