Is Toronto falling into disrepair? The city says it's in 'good shape,' but some residents disagree

Walk, driveorcycle through Toronto on any given day and you're bound to come across examples of public infrastructure or amenitiesnot working as they should.

Construction debris littered across a sidewalk. Apothole-filled road. A broken garbage bin stuffed to the brim. Adrinking fountain that doesn't spout water. Alocked washroom in a public park. Abike lane that abruptly ends.

A city spokesperson says theseare mostly isolated, temporary issues that quickly get fixed and that Toronto is generally in "very good shape." Butfor some residents, it feels like the place they call home is falling into a state of disrepair.

"You walk ... inNew York City years ago andit was disgusting. Nowwe are looking the same way," Alistair Francois told CBC Toronto in an interview outside city hall last week.

"We used to be the city that people admired worldwide;now we're not."

Theissueof how public spaces are maintained is top of mind for many Toronto voters heading to the polls for the Oct. 24 municipal election.

Public art project highlights 'urban decay'

The belief that Toronto isn't living up to its reputation as a world-class city is shared byJames McLeod and Tom Ruhig, creators of a satirical public art project launched earlier this month that provocatively calls attention to what they see as the city's "urban decay."

The Austerity TO project featuresa series of plaquesstyled like those seen in art galleriesplaced in various locations around the city. Residentscan see themon a brokenwater fountain with its plumbing removed outside city hall, a sidewalk garbage bin covered by a black tarp on Danforth Avenueand a curb on Dundas Street Westwhere part of the sidewalk's been replaced with sloppily pouredasphalt.

A website includeslonger descriptions that critiquethe state of infrastructure and other public amenities in Toronto, as well as other issues such asthe treatment of the unhoused, single-family zoning, as well asdangerous roads and bike lanes.

The website describes John Tory, who isrunning for a third term as mayor,as a"bold, world-class artist" using Toronto as his canvasand "ultra-low taxes, municipal bureaucracy and political stagnation"as his artistic tools.

McLeod, a communications professional and former journalist, and Ruhig, a design student,blame Tory for keeping property taxes low andleaving the city strapped for cash during his eight years in power.

"The bottom line is that for more than a decade, Toronto has had rock bottom low taxes and everything else followed from that," said McLeod.

"It does feel like the city is coming apart at the seams."

"There are real people being hurt by the lack of funding, the lack of care that's being taken to deliver things to the residents of the City of Toronto," added Ruhig.

This year, Toronto is facing a whopping$857-million budget gap mostly due tothe cost of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic which forcedthe city to pauseor shrink nearly $300 million in infrastructure projects.The city has also put off millions of dollars worth of road resurfacing projects until next year.

Meanwhile, Tory has largely kept thepledge he made during two previous election campaigns to keep property tax increases below the rate of inflation. According to a 2021 report from real estate website Zoocasa, Toronto had the lowest property tax rate in Ontariobefore it instituted a 2.9 per cent increase in this year's budget.

With the tongue-in-cheek project, McLeod and Ruhig are hoping to start a wider discussion about the state of the city during the municipal election campaign.

"It really is the time to think about what the vision for the city is and really look into the candidates and what they can offer to you both at the mayoral level and at your councillor level because their votes do matter," Ruhig said.

A spokesperson for Tory defended his record againstcritiques raised by AusterityTO, saying he secured a $28-billion transit plan, got thousands of housing units built and led the city through a pandemic.

"He has done all this while keeping taxes affordable when many found life in a big growing city difficult to afford, and still prioritized excellent delivery of the services residents expect," Jenessa Crognali, director of communications for Tory's re-election campaign, said in an emailed statement.

According to the city, only two to three per cent out of187 park washroomsare closed for repairs at any given time. Out of the 700 drinking fountains in parks, the city said aroundone to two per cent are in need of fixing.

Minor issues such as a broken water fountain button or a clogged toiledare usually fixed within 24 hours, the city said,but larger problems affecting major parts or infrastructure behind walls can take longer.

Astral Media, whichowns and operates the city's 10,000-plus public litter bins under a20-year advertising contract, said in an email statement that it cleans and inspects the binsonce weekly. The company says that increases totwice weekly in business improvement areasand high density neighbourhoods.

The company wouldn't disclose how many service requests it receives, but the city said there are currently 30 open workorders for repairs.

Brad Ross, a spokesperson for the City of Toronto, saidthe city's 311 response servicehasn't seen a recent spike in complaints.

"Are there areas we can do more? Absolutely. There's always room for improvementbut overallthe city remains in very good shape," Ross said.

"If there's an area that needs greater attentionthen staff look at that. So it's a constant work of continuous improvement. You're going to see a broken garbage bin from time to time, absolutely, and we do deal with them as quickly as possible."