A particularly treacherous stretch of sidewalk in front of a condo construction site in Toronto has people chattering about the lack of consideration developers seem to have for residents in the city.

Anyone walking along the north side of Bloor Street just west of Dovercourt Road has been met with an abrupt blockade in front of the entire sidewalk and westbound bike lane.

In front of the obstruction reads a sign asking pedestrians to "please use other sidewalk," which would necessitate either jaywalking across the busy roadway and continuing east or turning back and heading to the last crosswalk at Havelock Street, a few side streets and 210 metres in the wrong direction.

"Safety third for pedestrians," wrote a citizen who shared a photo of the predicament to Reddit this week.

"Construction at Dovercourt and Bloor has sidewalk closed with no safe crossing for pedestrians. Single officer standing at intersection for ceremony. Safety third but at least we have more unaffordable housing!"

Safety third for pedestrians
byu/UR0LY3N intoronto

Naturally, people had some fun in the comments, either raging about the way condo construction works in the city — as the culprit here is Sierra Communities, which is building Motto condos at 990 Bloor — or joking about what ridiculous route they would opt for in the situation.

"Per the sign, I will take the stairs and walk on top of the covered walkway," one person joked, referring to the notice to pedestrians that confusingly has an arrow pointing to the right (into the street) and left (into a building).

"They've even arranged the excavator on the far side as a staircase down for your convenience," another added.

Still, another noted that "obviously you're supposed to see from all the way at the previous intersection [and] cross to the other side ahead of time," with many agreeing that more signage to alert people further down the block would be nice.

Other, more serious remarks noted that those with accessibility needs are trying to pass by the area are basically screwed, and that "pedestrians are always an afterthought" in this city.

Finally. Kudos to @JoshMatlow for spearheading this. https://t.co/5RNXeBe8er

— nadiapr (@TheNadiaPR) January 10, 2020

Hopefully, incidents like these will be fewer and further between moving forward, as City Council approved a motion late last year to ensure safe and accessible pedestrian routes in construction zones.

Developers will be mandated to better clean up the public realm around their properties and provide "safe, accessible and clearly-marked" passages for pedestrians, as well as post signage for people to report hazards and violations.

As of Friday afternoon, the sidewalk under the scaffolding in front of Motto condos has been reopened.