Leaning pole in driveway has outlived its welcome: The Fixer
It's in the middle of a driveway serving two businesses, and isn't always seen by drivers turning left to pull in.

thestar.com
June 27, 2016
By Jack Lakey

There has to be a better place for a utility pole than in the middle of an entrance to commercial parking on a busy street in Vaughan.

Traffic is no less a problem in York Region than anywhere else in the GTA; a drive along any of the major arterial streets on a weekday in Vaughan will likely be bumper-to-bumper at some point.

Major Mackenzie Dr. is as packed as any, which can make left-hand turns a tricky manoeuvre, especially when traffic isn’t backed up and is moving at the speed limit.

Any obstacle to safely making a turn is a problem to be rectified at once, which is why a utility pole smack dab in the middle of a driveway on Major Mackenzie seems like such a mistake.

Avram Sussman sent us a note saying the pole is a danger to drivers turning into a driveway shared by businesses in two buildings on the north side of Major Mackenzie, west of Keele St.

“As you can see in the attached photos, the pole is leaning precariously and is narrowed significantly near the bottom due to erosion and rot,” he said.

“The position of the pole in the middle of the drive makes it difficult and dangerous for vehicles turning in from either direction.

“Major Mackenzie is extremely busy and most drivers do not expect cars to have to slow down so much, just to turn into a driveway. Recently, one of my clients was hit while making a right turn into the driveway.”

Sussman said PowerStream, the local electrical provider, has been contacted several times about moving the pole, but so far nothing has been done.

We were surprised not just by the location of the wooden pole, which has to be at least 40 years old, but also by the angle of its list and state of decay. Aside from its terrible positioning, it should have been replaced long ago.

STATUS: We asked the City of Vaughan to find out why the pole hasn’t been moved and replaced with a better one. A spokesperson got back to us and said it is on private property and belongs to one of the property owners. If they want it moved, they’d have to pay PowerStream to do it, said the spokesperson. We replied that the pole is clearly on the municipal road allowance, which is not private property. OK, said the spokesperson, then it’s York Region’s problem, since it is responsible for Major Mackenzie. We’re still waiting for York to figure out what to do about it.