A huge, billion-year-old rock may be a conversation piece, but that’s no reason for it to get in the way on one of Toronto’s busiest streets.

Anyone who has travelled along Bloor St., west of Spadina Ave., may have spotted a massive boulder at the southwest corner of Boor and Major Sts. and wondered why it’s there.

The rock was excavated during construction that has made Bloor a challenge for drivers and pedestrians this year, and deposited exactly where motorists who want to head south onto Major make a right turn.

The CBC reported in July that it was excavated during construction of a nearby parkette and is at least one billion years old, which gives it maximum seniority over everything and everybody.

But should it be granted squatter’s rights where it’s a traffic obstruction, when the area is already beset by lane narrowing and construction that makes it hard for drivers and pedestrians to get around?

Adrienne Simic emailed to say she tried to manoeuvre around it while turning from Bloor onto Major and ended up scraping both doors on the passenger side of her car.

Simic said she heard about the boulder “but hadn’t encountered it personally until I went to pick up my daughter at the corner of Bloor and Major.

“My eastbound lane (on Bloor) was flush with the curb. This meant that I had to make a sharp right turn from against the curb onto narrow Major St.”

She went around a pylon next to the rock “and heard a crunch that startled me. Even as I looked around, I couldn’t see the boulder because it is lower than the window of the vehicle.

“It was only when I exited and walked around the car that I realized what (the scraping noise) was. You can’t leave a boulder in the road without permanent barriers that are visible.”

I went there last weekend and found the rock marked by two large traffic barrels, but they are notorious for abandoning their post. We also noticed two different colours of paint on it, a sign that more than one driver has scraped it.

STATUS: We asked the city if the rock can be moved and got the following reply from spokesperson Susan Pape: “The Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (BIA) is leading the design of four new parkettes in this area and the boulder will be incorporated into the Howland parkette garden. The City is working to have the boulder moved from the road as soon as possible. The project team has been monitoring this location where the boulder is daily to ensure four barrels with caution tape remain in place to provide buffer, however given the busy nature of the area, it appears these barrels were moved. The City is looking into options to block off the boulder if it cannot be immediately relocated given its size and weight.

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“When construction has damaged property, an individual can submit a claim that will be reviewed, however the claimant must demonstrate the City was negligent in some way, as well as proving the nature of their claim.”

She noted claims can be submitted through the city’s website, toronto.ca.