Investigation underway after City of Toronto snow plow appears to smash into resident's front yard

Ctvnews.ca
Jan. 4, 2022
Phil Tsekouras

The City of Toronto says it is investigating after one of its own snow removal vehicles was involved in an incident that left part of a resident’s front yard in shambles.

Hasina Bhamji, who lives in Scarborough’s Woburn neighbourhood, said her mother first noticed the damage as the pair headed out to breakfast last weekend.

“She’s the one who told me, she said, ‘It looks like somebody broke our retaining wall,’” Bhamji told CTV News Toronto over the phone.

The retaining wall, which Bhamji said is made up of three solid concrete blocks, could be seen laid out in pieces of the driveway that morning.

Upon reviewing surveillance video of the incident, Bhamji said she was shocked at what she saw.

“I checked the camera and I saw a snow plow driver like flying down the sidewalk,” Bhamji said. “He never came back.”

Though it’s unclear exactly how fast the plow was travelling at the time of the incident, the City of Toronto confirmed that the snow removal vehicle’s speed will be part of its investigation.

“Staff will also review GPS information for this sidewalk plow: if the operator was found driving at a speed exceeding 10 km/h, the City will develop and implement corrective action with the contractor,” Hakeem Muhammad, transportation spokesperson for the city, told CTV News Toronto.

A city contractor has been assigned to fix the damage, although they said the property is encroaching the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, Bhamji said she is less concerned about the damage -- she was planning on replacing the retaining wall anyways -- and more worried about city drivers travelling at what she calls dangerous speeds.

“My concern was not the breaking. The way he’s driving, people can be killed,” she said.