Toronto stinks (1)
The apocalypse, as advertised on morning radio, hadn’t come to pass. Traffic moved well along Toronto’s Lakeshore Boulevard last weekend as pickets allowed people to drop off their garbage at three giant parking lots fenced off for the purpose. Union leaders had warned that striking municipal workers would be delaying residents up to an hour at these specially designated dump sites before letting them off-load—a gambit that would have transformed the area into a knot of snarled traffic and snarling drivers. But instead of chaos, motorists were greeted on Saturday by two men wearing strike placards and morose expressions. One held back drivers for all of two minutes, before letting them roll ahead to the drop zone. Most drivers passed through without hearing a gripe.
Maybe the workers figured Toronto’s municipal employees strike was nearing its bitter end. But if they thought they were getting the upper hand they were wrong. For more than three weeks, mounds of plastic bags had been stretching toward the far reaches of the lakeshore lots, as 24,000 inside and outside workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees walked the picket lines, and residents grimly took up the task of transporting their own trash for disposal. The resulting spectacle is at once impressive and revolting: in a few short days, the piles at the lakeshore—one of 21 such sites through the city—rose and spread to cover several acres behind translucent snow fences, attracting squadrons of seagulls and emitting an odour whose foul complexity was hard to describe (rotting food and soiled diapers were just the beginning). On Sunday, city managers had obtained their second court injunction allowing pest control workers to spray the burgeoning piles, while the zones themselves were nearing capacity. Yet somehow Torontonians were struggling through.
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Updates:
9:05 am EDT, July 23rd, 2009 — Windsor city workers strike deal
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fernstalbert Says:
Toronto you are running out of temporary garbage space. Mind you the greenies should be happy, parking lots are filling up and the automobile is relegated to second place status. This could be a revolution – no vehicles no carbon. Always a bright side.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 8:49 am
Anne Says:
Ahh yes, but remember… when the strike is over, the municipal workers will get OVERTIME to clear the backlog they, themselves caused. Sweet deal
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
hynd Says:
The automobile was already in second place (maybe farther down), according to the powers in office the bike is king.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Philanthropist Says:
Torontonians voted for this and wouldn’t have it any other way – congratulations Mayor Miller.
Posted on July 24th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Cynapse Says:
There will be no bright side for Mayor Miller. I think Toronto is about to elect Mike Harris lite. Already,m his ratings are abysmal, there are several calls to disband unions and people are getting in physical altercations with the garbage workers.
Posted on July 24th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Peter Says:
“disband unions”?
Sounds like an idea who’s time has come.
Posted on July 24th, 2009 at 11:33 pm