Infill Housing #24

Ah...Kenora Street in the summer. I wish I could say it's been relaxing and quiet. Here's a photo recap of our street this summer.

The construction at # 77 is progressing quickly, which is about the only good thing you can say about  it. After having the unfortunate experience of witnessing so many infills being constructed, we're getting  familiar with all the steps involved.

This truck is carrying the forms for the basement (cement) walls at #77.

With work still ongoing at #79, there are always multiple trucks and deliveries.

At #79 they decide to work on  landscaping and driveways.

At #77 there's another delivery.

The city plays it's part in their never-ending game of Catch Up. They will never win this game of replacing our demolished sidewalks.

At #77 the walls are in place, so we now know where the doubles will be.

The road is frequently blocked.

You never know who or what will park in front of your house.

If only they would have stopped here, with just the two stories.

But no, they went for a third story. What a shame for their next door neighbour.

Meanwhile at #79, the landscape effort grinds to a halt.

So, our tax dollars go towards the repair of these sidewalks.

Of course the sidewalks need replacement, after all these heavy trucks demolish them.

Why am I paying for this work?

Meanwhile, on "lower" Kenora, another original house awaits its demise.

Another delivery

So here's the thing. Not only were these roofers walking around, up on that third story, with no harnesses or hard hats. They ate their lunch on the sidewalk, in the shade of our front lawn. As we drove out of the laneway , all we could smell was dope! They were high in more ways than one!

This safety sign on the construction fence is very useful.

Last but not least. One morning I opened the front door and a terrible stench greeted me. This truck had just emptied the port a potty.

When work started at #77, the lovely family who live next door asked if the port a potty could be moved to the other side. They were told that it would be moved. If there was any justice in this situation, that smelly outhouse should be right next to #79, the other infill builder, not next to a family with two young children, who like to play on their front lawn. The outhouse was never moved. Infill stinks!

Always a challenge

Nothing is simple anymore. Some days it seems that everything is a challenge. You can't just pick up the phone and call a company to ask a question. You have to listen to instructions, hope that you select the right number, wait for fifteen minutes and then hopefully, you might be connected with another human. Often you are told to call back because of high call volumes. Or you are advised to go online to solve your problem. Every store, every company wants you to set up an online account. You can't just pay them. Recently my elderly mother was advised to go online to pay for mass intentions at her church. No more visiting with the church secretary and handing over some cash. That is so old school. Okay, so I am sounding elderly myself now. It's just that after a long absence here, I decided to update my blog and find that there is a new format (interface) to learn. I am severely challenged in technical matters already. Having to navigate a new format is a hurdle I don't need. So, please bear with me as I struggle to adjust. Whenever I feel frustrated with technology I wonder how the rest of the population is managing. I'm no genius but I have a reasonable education and work experience. What about the portion of our population without those advantages? Those who, through no fault of their own, have been left in the dust as society has done this enormous pivot? How can they keep up? (Right now I can't figure out how to space out these paragraphs!)