They tore up the sidewalk and then disappeared. Parkdale residents and businesses now want answers

In Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, the intersection of King Street West and Cowan Avenue has been a source of problems for years.

“It’s a dangerous intersection,” said resident Philippe Devos, who spoke to us just feet away from a memorial marking the spot a bicyclist was killed back in 2017.

“The city has recognized the danger here, and they came to make improvements to this intersection back in June.”

But after ripping up the sidewalk, residents say those city crews vanished.

“They came, did some of the work but left behind a fenced off mess and we haven’t seen them since,” Devos said.

Work started in early June after the intersection was identified as needing improvement under Toronto’s Vision Zero plan which is designed to reconstruct streets and sidewalks to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

The City plans to install curb extensions to lower vehicle speeds, reduce pedestrian crossing distances at intersections, increase visibility of pedestrians and provide more space to pedestrians waiting to cross.

But it remains unfinished. Temporary fencing blocks off a large portion of the intersection’s sidewalk that’s been ripped up.

Devos says a temporary walkway, which pedestrians have been using for months, is unsafe.

“It’s more than an eyesore. It’s a hazard. When you get to the top of the sidewalk at Cowan, there’s nowhere to go. You have to cross the street, and then you’re in traffic where vehicles rip around King Street and south onto Cowan, it’s dangerous and putting lives at risk,” Devos said.

It’s also impacting business at the Domino’s pizzeria that calls this intersection home.

“It’s a carry out store, but because of this, it’s mostly empty now,” said Manager Abin Varghese. “We had to put in a ramp to go over the mess that’s been left there and people just aren’t coming in like they used to.”

Businesses and residents in the area are on board with the planned safety improvements but they say the delay is frustrating.

“They’ve tried to make it safer, but the result, at least for the last several months, is it’s been significantly more dangerous,” Devos said.

Speakers Corner reached out to the city for answers to find out when work will restart and what led to the delay.

“During sidewalk removals, the contractor uncovered a basement under the sidewalk in the public right-of-way,” said Toronto Senior Communications Advisor Laura McQuillan. “City building staff were consulted, and the construction area was secured while a determination was made on how to proceed.”

But it was complicated. Engineers had to be consulted and additional funds had to be secured to deal with the added costs.

“During this closure, City staff determined an engineering plan to abandon the basement, as well as financial approvals for the additional work that is required.”

McQuillan says work is tentatively scheduled to begin this week. Residents and businesses hope it’s fast tracked.

“My big concern is if this will be done by Halloween,” Devos said. “In this area we get hundreds of kids here. Now we’ve lost half of our sidewalk for these kids and it’s going to put a lot of them in danger. They have to fix this soon, or I’m worried someone is going to get hurt.”

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