A Toronto senior鈥檚 peaceful protest over a pothole has proven that in some cases you can fight city hall.
Edward Zaretsky said he decided to take matters into his own hands after three weeks of calls to the city鈥檚 311 service. When no crews arrived to patch the pothole he complained about, he told them he would block the street with his minivan on Thursday morning.
鈥淚 told them: At 9 a.m. I will block the road,鈥� the 84-year-old told CTV Toronto on Thursday. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥榊ou鈥檒l have to move your car.鈥� I said, 鈥業鈥檓 not moving my car. You鈥檒l have to get the police.鈥欌��
True to his word, Zaretsky parked his van in front of the rough patch of road on Torresdale Avenue near Antibes Drive, in the city鈥檚 north end. He sat in the front seat with his hazard lights blinking and his arm casually slung out of the open window.
Zaretsky didn鈥檛 budge when police asked him to clear the road. Three hours into the standoff, city crews arrived and went to work fixing the pothole in question.
Zaretsky is well-known to residents of his north Toronto neighbourhood. He operates a community organization called Citizens Alliance Group, and ran for city council in 2010.
He said the one-man, one-van protest left him feeling young and vindicated.
鈥淚 feel tremendous,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 84 years old and I feel 20.鈥�
Reporters questioned Toronto Mayor John Tory about Zaretsky鈥檚 civil disobedience at an unrelated press conference on Thursday. Tory said he has heard of cases where potholes have been filled on the same day a complaint was received, and suggested fluctuating weather has hampered the city鈥檚 road repair efforts.
According to a city spokesperson, crews have filled 82,017 potholes this year. The spokesperson said workers had been assigned to visit Zaretsky鈥檚 neighbourhood, and were expected there sometime on Thursday or Friday.
Zaretsky was unapologetic when asked if his protest tactics unfairly bumped his pothole problem to the top of the city鈥檚 repair list. He suggested others follow his lead if they want action.
鈥淣ow they can go to the front of the line,鈥� he said with a smile. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 wonderful.鈥�
With files from CTV Toronto鈥檚 John Musselman
