Like drunken guests at a Christmas party, two utility poles in the middle of a crosswalk need to be given the bum’s rush and sent on their way.

Everybody loves Christmas, but most people don’t mind when it fades into the rear-view mirror, along with the frantic merrymaking and guests whose tediousness grows with each drink tossed back.

Even teetotallers on good behaviour can warm the hearts of their hosts when they head toward the door, a cheerful sign that the festivities are thankfully winding down.

But some people are dumb as stumps and overstay their welcome, a lot like the two poles at both ends of a crosswalk on Davisville Avenue, between Yonge Street and Mount Pleasant Road.

Ken Burford emailed screen grabs of the poles, marked with red Xs, on both sides of Davisville and right in the middle of the spot where people step into the crosswalk.

“The hydro poles shown in the picture with the red Xs through them should be removed by Toronto Hydro,” said Burford. “They are no longer in use and have been there for several years.”

He went on to say that he told Toronto Hydro about it “a few months ago and they said that they would remove them (but) nothing has happened yet.

“They do obstruct vision at the crosswalk. And with Vision Zero effort by the city, one would think that removing these poles that obstruct vision at the crosswalk would be a priority.”

I went there and found that the positioning of the poles did not seem to be a hindrance to people using the crosswalk. But they could prevent drivers from getting a good look at pedestrians stepping into it.

The city describes its Vision Zero program as a “comprehensive five-year (2017-2021) action plan focused on reducing traffic related fatalities and serious injuries on Toronto’s streets.”

If the city is serious about improving pedestrian safety — and that’s an open question — removing the poles from the crosswalk would be a good place to dig in.

STATUS: Russell Baker, a spokesperson for Toronto Hydro, emailed to say “we work to remove our poles quickly upon completion of pole replacement projects, however are unable to remove them until third-party assets are taken off. In this case, a traffic asset remains attached to one of these poles and a request was made for its removal. The City has advised that they expect their asset will be removed early in 2020, following which we will immediately remove the old poles.”

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