Construction Sign Again
Is the intersection of Toronto’s Yonge and Bloor Streets the most famous intersection in Canada? Arguably, yes. Is the intersection of Toronto’s Yonge and Bloor Streets “The Best Corner in the World”? Some think so. I sure don’t. Is the intersection of Toronto’s Yonge and Bloor Streets ugly? Hells, yeah. Stupid? You be the judge:
Who knew road repair signs could be so… in need of repair? Note, too, the classy and supersafe anchoring system. My camera missed (by a day) when the pylons in the background were festooned with windblown, yellow “CAUTION” ribbons, helpfully torn apart by some random Yonge-Bloor street person who no doubt felt the warnings, like the passersby, were violating their personal space. (”I live on the street, ergo it’s mine to redecorate.”)
Also, if people were pylons, that one in the foreground would be Lindsay Lohan.
“SIDEWALK CLOSED PEDESTRIANS USE OTHER SIDEWALK,” the sign helpfully states, ignoring the very obvious fact that the sidewalk is totally not closed. Note the reappearance of the CAUTION ribbon motif.
Not only has the construction crew placed a helpful wire mesh on the sidewalk — should a sinkhole suddenly appear, a pedestrian might just fall in — but the NO RIGHT TURN sign has been safely anchored to the street light with — what else? — yellow CAUTION tape. The NO RIGHT TURN SIGN, it should be noted, was installed by the Department of Redundancy Department, though one could argue — as one is wont to do — that drivers who completely ignore the upper sign will pay scant attention to the temporary addition.
The “DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION” sign, directly in front of the construction blocking the intersection, was surely someone’s cheeky attempt at humour.
My personal favourite, this detour sign is placed not in the cordoned-off, totally empty traffic lane to the right, but on its side and positioned to reduce the sidewalk’s usability by a full 50%. I mean, seriously, why limit inconvenience and danger to drivers and cyclists when you can go for the pedestrian hat trick?
See also: 3 Words: Location, Location, Shmocation and The Best Corner in the World Redux
10 comments
Are you alluding to the Firesign Theatre just to make yourself even more amazing in my eyes, or is it just a coincidence? Also: “CAUTION ribbon motif” is delightful.
Y’know, tuckova, I’ve been using “Department of Redundancy Department” since my, um, “college” days and, since that
former-hippietime, I can’t recall anyone catching my casual shout-out to Firesign Theatre. Until now. You? Are a goddess. What a stab from the past! It’s all rushing back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist!I think the whole thing is a fabulous interactive outdoor art installation shrewdly commenting on the futility and frustration of urban living–one of the rare artworks in recent times to provoke vivid emotional reaction bordering on blind rage from both viewers and participants. An experiential meta-narrative, a quasi-theatrical setting that beckons the onlooker to attempt to engage with and negotiate its dangerous contradictions. A “de-construction,” if you will.
Demoralizing. Dehumanizing. Fantastic! Give these people a grant!
Bwah! I kept looking around for some rail-thin aesthete who might be shepherding the process — or for video cameras filming it — but, um, no.
“Bwah!” But, we have You! You’ve been taken over by Yellow Tape Aliens (York Div) and are doing their work for ‘em…jesu, but I do love coming to this site of a mornin’ and watching your take on Toronto…plus all these muscles…j.
LINDSAY LOHAN???
STOP IT, YOU’RE KILLING ME !!!
David I love your interpretation. I know my reaction is damn near blind rage every time I have to navigate that nightmare of an intersection. Why is there never anyone actually doing any work there? What are they trying to accomplish?
b, this post needs some love. Can I have permission to use an image or two in a post on blogTO with linkbacks? Cheers.
That’s awesome, Adam, thanks, man. And you’ve hit on my biggest issue with the unending construction: Not only is it superdangerous and ugly, but it’s simply not been given the urgency required of repairs to such a vital, Toronto intersection.
[...] reported before on the endless, endless construction at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets in Downtown Toronto, and of the haphazard manner in which the construction has been undertaken. [...]
[...] at the office rewarded my deep, abiding love for yellow CAUTION tape [...]