The sheer number of decommissioned utility poles on Toronto streets is clearly a sore point with the public, as is the reason given for why they have yet to be removed.

Our column last month about old poles still standing next to their replacements on Beech and Pine Aves. stirred the ire of readers, as did Toronto Hydro’s reasoning for not taking them down sooner. To Hydro’s credit, they were gone about a week after our column.

The power utility says the poles often linger long after they’ve been replaced due to “third-party attachments,” wires that belong to other utilities, such as Bell Canada, that have yet to be removed.

Read more:

Old utility poles take the hint and disappear

Old utility poles never seem to die, or even fade away

We’ve previously suggested to Hydro that it set deadlines to encourage the third parties to do the right thing, but some readers aren’t buying it, saying a lot of the old poles have long been denuded of wiring.

“The rewiring by Hydro and other utilities was completed in the summer of 2016,” said Faizel Bhaba.

“I know this because I live (in the area) and have been waiting for Hydro to remove the old poles on my street as well. They don’t push the third parties.”

Dr. Malcolm Silver said he’s fed up with the old poles lining Bayview Ave., south of Fife Rd., just south of Highway 401, noting that “some still have wires attached, but most do not.”

A reader named Frank said he’s been trying for two years to get Hydro to take down old poles on the north side of Wilson Ave., between Keele and Jane Sts., “to no avail.

“I have called Hydro and they indicated they would raise a work order for the utilities to move their services to the new poles, but they are doing nothing.”

We checked out the poles on Wilson and noticed that the new replacements are nearly as weather-worn as the old poles to be removed. It’s an indication that they’ve been there for years.

No wonder people are questioning the third-party issues.

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STATUS: Hydro spokesperson Tori Gass is trying to get us a timeline for the removal of the Wilson poles. We have also forwarded Dr. Silver’s complaint about the Bayview poles for Hydro’s consideration.

What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email to jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter