Fixing Rexdale

The Raveling, Cracking & Rutting of Rexdale Roads.

If I were to paint you a picture of neglect when it comes to the neighbourhood of Rexdale, in full recognition of the improvements to the physical structures along the boulevard, I would take you to the corner of John Garland & Humber College, just east of Tamarisk Park & Drive.

This tiny stretch of road, heading west to past Highway 27 is home to three (soon-to-be-four) high-priority destinations, concentrated on the western side of the stretch. You have the newly renovated William Osler Heath Centre of Etobicoke General Hospital, adjacent to Highway 27, with the soon-to-debut Finch West LRT line & station attached to the North Campus of Humber College. As a cyclist, I would argue that there are five major destinations with access to the West Humber trail tucked away, adjacent to Alicewood Court.

It would be unwise to hazard a leisurely drive upon the beginnings of the boulevard, as it is a forever misshapen pothole stretch. Repairs are at best sporadic & it is one of the most neglected thoroughfares in Etobicoke North. I recognize that anecdotes are hard to verify but if you were to survey paramedics who rely upon this area to bring patients requiring critical care to late-night emergencies, even when there is little vehicular traffic, there would be a near-unanimous disapproval of the general state of the road. The entire neighbourhood is an arterial patchwork of neglect in similar states of disrepair that have not been attended to with any kind of vigilance. Even if not with malice from our elected representatives, the neglect is always intentional if it is seen & ignored (You can always tell what a politician thinks of their constituents from the overall state of the roads)

There is a Rexdale proverb that says if you wait for the next Wilson 96 expecting it to be less packed, it will still be overcrowded.

Survey the average Rexdale constituent & the majority of us are facing dire economic circumstance tied to long-term structural discrimination. A college we cannot afford, a rebuilt hospital suffering from massive overcrowding & significant delays due to an intentionally broken healthcare system on a road that is never repaired. And the road that is never fully repaired is a measure of access denied.

This series will examine how Rexdale is forever in a state of disrepair & how it has been bred in our nature to wait for a solution never fully delivered. Every street is a story of delayed rehabilitation to the raveling, cracking & rutting. & to tell a story of disrepair is the possibility of remedy.

We will start with the tiny restorations that are required street-by-street, before discussing more complex matters & viable solutions that will require a little more inspiration & imagination to be realized.

rahim@viciousminuteshour.com