Mississauga the Magnificent is one of the greatest cities to live in and not just in Canada, but the whole world.
But that does not mean there’s no danger.
In 2024, you just never know when something you didn’t expect will pop out on you and, just like that, you are ankle deep in trouble. And that is not always the result of a violent criminal stealing a car, carrying a gun, robbing a store or committing a home invasion.
Sometimes regular, law-abiding citizens can wreak havoc.
The youth charged by Peel Regional Police in the parking lot at Square One shopping mall after allegedly being found in a stolen car with a loaded handgun and a replica firearm is everyone’s worst nightmare.
However, sometimes people are at risk from other endeavours, such as going for a walk on a paved park trail.
One such example came this weekend in the Sawmill Valley section of town in Coppersmith Grove Park, just off of Folkway Dr. Moms, dads, kids, grandparents and dogs on their way to the playground encountered some green sludge pouring out from a backyard, heading directly onto the path and pooling up all around, hence leaving people stuck with an unexplained goo — like the river of slime from Ghostbusters — all around them.
It didn’t smell any better than it looked.
To their credit, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and Ward 8 Councillor Matt Mahoney (the son of former Ward 8 legends Steve Mahoney and Katie Mahoney, who is equally as great at that job as they were) got right on it. City staff dispatched a team to see what this was and determined it was somebody flushing their algae-filled swimming pool. Instead of dumping that nasty substance on their lawn, it ended up in public space.
It “would leave the path a slippery mess” and “could cause a fall,” said Parrish, who also took to X on Monday to admonish those who left a “disgusting” mess at a Malton-area city park.
Mahoney said city staff were still investigating. If it was done on purpose, Parrish said, the city can charge a homeowner with the cost of the cleanup. It may not seem like a big deal unless you were one of the people walking by when this stuff came out by surprise like a mini flash flood and got all over people’s feet and those of their pets.
City staff didn’t know what it was at first, so there was some initial concern that it could be toxic.
And just when you think you are safe on the amazing Mississauga trails that go through parks and ravines and along the picturesque Credit River, something else comes your way. Like the rental e-bikes and scooters that are randomly left anywhere to be picked up by the next person paying with a credit card.
As Mahoney said, it’s too early to determine the success of this modern program and one does not want to be negative before it even gets going.
But that said, one dynamic that has suddenly changed for seniors and for parents with young children is there are more inexperienced people with electronically motorized vehicles suddenly flying by them on trials and bike paths. There has already been a problem from some riders who own very fast e-bikes that sneak up quietly behind people out for a walk, sometimes leaving them scurrying without warning or wrenching a knee or their back to get out of the way.
It’s also a new safety risk for motor-vehicle drivers who are suddenly sharing the road with bikes and these bizarre scooters and e-bikes. These vehicle are not licensed to be on the road and their owners are not participating in paying road or carbon taxes.
For such a change, it would be better if there was a vote on it by the public and that zones, rules and regulations were established in the interest of public safety. Why wait for the first fatality? As I have told Ontario Safety League president Brian Patterson, there should at the very least be a licensing course for e-bikes like they have for boating.
This column is not to pick on responsible e-scooter or bike owners because many of them are fine and it does look like a cool, efficient and affordable way to get around. But they are at risk, too, because car and truck drivers on the road are not really sure how they are supposed to share the street with them. And they don’t fall under the Highway Traffic Act.
And then there is the terrifying video posted by 6ixBuzzTV, which allegedly shows a van speeding along a trail next to a roadway in Mississauga — a trail that bikes, e-scooters and pedestrians would normally be on.
Peel Regional Police have yet to comment.
However, one look at the video and it’s easy to see the potential danger that could have arisen. It reminded me of the van attack in Toronto that killed so many innocent people and reinforced the fact that it’s not always a gun that can put people’s lives at risk.