By Alexandra Holyk and Emma Sandri
Clouds of steam billow out of two tall towers on Ryerson’s Gould Street into the ice-cold air. Students side-step the strange new additions to campus, as vehicles try their best to squeeze by.
Everyone is wondering: why are they there? What do they want?
The metal chimneys recently installed in the middle of one of the only streets not under construction at Ryerson are not related to the campus construction project, according to Ryerson’s public relations and communications specialist Brian Tran.
According to Tran, the pipes were installed to control steam emissions from a sewer grate.
This came after Ryerson reported the issue to Enwave Energy Corporation—a district energy system co-owned by the city of Toronto.
“Enwave and City of Toronto crews are exploring the source of the steam,” Tran said in an email to The Eyeopener, adding that the emissions do not contain any harmful chemicals.
“Over the weekend, repairs were made to city water pipes, we anticipate over the next few days this will abate the steam,” said Tran.
Due to ongoing construction delays, many students said they thought the pipes on Gould Street were related to the construction.
The construction continues to pose navigational challenges for students. The addition of the tubes has made it more difficult for vehicles to access Church Street from Gould Street.
Tran added that the pipes were installed as an “interim” measure to address the steam that was “impeding visibility” on the street.
Drivers must squeeze through the pipes and the cars parked on either sides of Gould Street.
“I see a lot of angry drivers and a lot of people trying to navigate [Gould Street],” said Ines Alibou, an exchange student from Toulon, a city south of Marseilles, France.
“I thought this was normal for Toronto. I thought sticking metal pipes in the road was something common here,” Alibou added.
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