Residents calling on city, developers to be accountable for 'treacherous' sidewalk in Humber Bay

Last winter, while walking near his home, Stephen Ghigliotty tripped, fell, and shattered the bones in his right wrist.

But it wasn't ice or snow that caused the Humber Bay resident to stumble — it was the sidewalk itself, with one concrete panel roughly five centimetres lower than another.

"The doctor said, 'Sir, you've crushed your wrist. You need surgery immediately,'" Ghigliotty recalled.

The damage required a medical team to re-break his wrist before re-setting it, leaving Ghigliotty in a cast from February until May. What was less clear to the 61-year-old was who was actually responsible for the area's "treacherous" sidewalk issues in the first place.

It's a mystery perplexing multiple residents in the waterfront condo community, where new construction is a constant, causing chewed-up sidewalks along several blocks of Lake Shore Boulevard West between Brookers Lane and Park Lawn Road.

And with the high number of complaints to the city about sidewalk damage, it's also a question facing residents across Toronto: Who's accountable for fixing unsafe sidewalks city-wide? Developers, or the city?

Steve Ulrich, a neighbour of Ghigliotty, believes much of the sidewalk on the south side of Lake Short Boulevard West is downright dangerous, with broken asphalt and holes throughout.

"We're not asking for landscaping or street furniture, just a safe, even ground surface," he said.

When he brought a complaint to Toronto's 311 contact centre — the city's municipal services hotline — Ulrich said he was told by phone that the sidewalk is the developer's responsibility, and he questioned why the city isn't doing more to hold the companies accountable.

City staff 'continue to monitor' sites

CBC Toronto raised those concerns with city officials from the transportation department on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Eric Holmes said complaints brought to 311 typically lead to a transportation services officer visiting the site to make sure the area is in compliance with various guidelines, including provincial accessibility legislation and whatever city-approved traffic management plan has been developed for each particular project.

And there are definitely a lot of resident concerns coming in.

At least 3,380 service requests regarding sidewalk damage have been submitted to the 311 hotline this year alone, making up around 30 per cent of all sidewalk-related complaints, according to city data analyzed by CBC Toronto.

It's not clear how many of those are tied to construction work.

Holmes said if the city doesn't feel like a developer is living up to the safety guidelines, officials can fine the contractor up to $5,000.

"Worst case scenario, there's a stop-work order applied," he added.

As for the stretch along Lake Shore Boulevard West, Holmes said officers have been to the site and are in contact with the contractor, who is also aware of community concerns "and has been actively working" to make temporary repairs to the sidewalk.

During active construction, it is the responsibility of the contractor to maintain the sidewalks adjacent to their work zone until permanent improvements can be made, usually toward the end of construction, he added.

City staff also "continue to monitor" the sites along Lake Shore Boulevard West on a regular basis to ensure the areas are safe.

"Standards officers have noted that the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street is away from the active construction and available to pedestrians," Holmes said.

Ulrich said that's not good enough: the north sidewalk ends at a certain point, and he stressed that any shops and condos people need to get to are on the south side, forcing them to walk on that side of the road.

No 'standard' in place, advocate says

Others warn that, while the city may have policies in place, it's not stopping developers in the Humber Bay area and across the city from damaging sidewalks and reducing accessibility while construction projects are in motion — often for years at a time.

"There is no real standard," said Luke Anderson, executive director and co-founder of the StopGap Foundation — a charity organization that promotes accessibility for people with disabilities.

Anderson, who uses a motorized wheelchair, said he's personally experienced issues with damaged sidewalks and areas where there are no ramps to cross roadways safely, forcing him to backtrack or even use the road.

"There should be consequences, and I believe there should be enforcement ... This issue really puts the public safety at risk," he said.

Ulrich remains frustrated that his pleas for safer sidewalks in Humber Bay have seemingly gone unanswered.

"It is not even remotely close to something that I'd say is stable to walk on," he said.