Written by By J.A. Davis, CNN
When Toronto’s Commissioner of Transportation said he would find out how a left-turn section of the Westbound Off-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard East to Bloor Street East coated in ice four days after some 10 inches of snow fell, questions began to arise.
“Let me make sure I understand the process correctly,” Adam Giambrone wrote on his Twitter account on Monday afternoon.
When users pressed him on the issue, he replied: “At this point, it looks like we probably have some work to do, but you can rest assured I’ll keep you updated.”
“Lotta work to do,” he repeated in follow-up tweets to further explain his position.
The city’s response to the blockage and whether it plans to remove the barrier was a point of concern among onlookers, who began to take to Twitter to express their frustration.
@TOM_MAYOR @TOM_Giambrone Do you plan to add an avenue to the side of Bloor v Halton Ctr at Bloor & St Laurent? — James Cunningham (@thatsGman) November 4, 2020
@TOM_MAYOR Do you plan to add an avenue to the side of Bloor v Halton Ctr at Bloor & St Laurent? — James Cunningham (@thatsGman) November 4, 2020
Crown jewels
There has been scrutiny regarding the blunders surrounding the city’s basic maintenance. To wit, in January 2018, the city was forced to recall its fleet of snowplows when it became evident that its fleet lacked proper operational control.
“The operators have been restricted from driving and the DOT (Department of Transportation) is having to temporarily assign some snowplows and maintenance workers to other snow control responsibilities,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement to local media outlets, according to CBC News .
The blunders also lead to questions regarding the city’s snow removal efforts. “As significant snowfall continues to blanket the city, concern over whether adequate plowing is taking place is growing,” wrote Sarah Bannister in her CNN op-ed in January.
In the wake of this latest blunder, the city tweeted an apology for any inconvenience caused by the ice blockage.
In a statement to CNN, spokesman Ryan Bird said: “I want to say, sincerely apologize for the driving conditions. There are definitely some options we can look at.”
“I don’t know what the right procedure is for one off ice blocking lanes, but I really haven’t looked into it,” he added.