East York resident wants city to get to root of his tree-removal problem
· Toronto Sun
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Nearly a week after a major storm swept across the city , one resident is still dealing with the aftermath.
“The tree is still down with no call, email or people from the city coming by,” Toronto resident Ian Warren told the Toronto Sun on Tuesday afternoon. “My neighbour’s car has been pinned under the tree since Sept. 2. The tree partially blocks the street, which is an alternate emergency route to Michael Garron Hospital, located two blocks down my street.”
Warren has lived for 16 years on Fairside Ave. and his home is located in Brad Bradford’s Beaches–East York riding. He said he called 311 Toronto and filed a service request with the city as well within an hour after the tree came down.
Nearly a week later, he is still waiting for the tree to be removed, while he said his neighbour’s car is beyond repair. There has been progress, though, as he said the city put up some caution tape.
“My emergency tree removal request with the city shows no progress from my initial submission on the second of September,” Warren said.
Tree knocked down electrical wire
The East York resident said the tree knocked down a live electrical wire, too, but Toronto Hydro remedied the issue on Friday.
Warren emailed Bradford two days after the storm and received a response on Tuesday afternoon.
“Thanks for confirming the tree is still down,” an email from Bradford’s office said. “We are going to expedite this with the forestry division of the city. Please let me know if the crews aren’t there by Wednesday afternoon.”
The intense weather last Wednesday brought heavy rain, significant hail and the risk of a tornado. Depending on where you live in the city, the amount of rainfall was anywhere between a reported 105 mm in Scarborough to 118 mm in North York.
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City manager Paul Johnson said the amount of rain that fell qualified as a “100-year storm” by their definition.
According to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority , a 100-year storm is defined as a “rainfall event that statistically has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, at any given place. It does not mean that such a storm will only occur once every 100 years.”
Videos on social media showed hail falling, vehicles partly or totally submerged in water and beleaguered residents scurrying for shelter.
Toronto Police said they received about 300 calls reporting downed power lines because of the deluge.
Politicians politicking
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow attended an event on Thursday morning and talked about the city’s emergency response to the weatherly blast.
“I want to assure the people of Toronto, we were prepared, our teams were co-ordinated and we will keep working until every road is clear and every resident has power back,” Chow told the media.
The mayor said roughly 90% of homes had their power restored and urged anyone with flooding or other storm-related issues to call 311 for help.
“The mayor claimed emergency crews had been prepared for the storm,” Warren said. “Apparently, readiness does not equate to timeliness, responsiveness or adequate resources.”
Resident peeved with mayoral candidate
Warren said he understands there was major damage done during the storm, but he feels six days is a bit too long for the tree to remain in his yard. He also feels the lack of a timely response from Bradford or his office is an indictment on Bradford’s ability to lead the city into the future.
“As a citizen of Toronto and voter in the upcoming mayoral election, I wonder why any voter in the city should have confidence in candidate Brad Bradford’s ability to respond to issues and crises that may arise on a city-wide level, when he has demonstrated no such ability with the constituents in his own riding,” Warren said.
The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 26.
“This is a tree and there are gawkers all day, coming by and looking at this tree down on my neighbour’s car,” Warren said. “To see (Bradford) in a press conference talking about what he is going to do for Scarborough, he is going to have shovels in the ground in his first year and he is going to do this, making all these promises, but he can’t even look after his constituents now in his own riding.”