Toronto is cracking down on residents who leave hockey and basketball nets on roadsides overnight.
Residents say they’ve received letters from the city in the past week telling them to remove sporting equipment from city property or face a $90 fine. Other residents have received visits from bylaw officers.
“Is the city that desperate for money?” said Aleks Sasa, a resident of East York. “We grew up playing road hockey on these streets and it hasn’t been a problem until now.”
An encroachment bylaw bans all temporary or permanent structures, including nets from being placed on public roads without permission from the city.
Toronto residents have voiced their displeasure on social media, saying this encourages kids to stay inside with their video games and TVs instead of playing outside.
#GrowingUpCanadian getting mad every time a car passed by cause you’d have to move your road hockey nets
— Brooke (@BrookeSwitzer15) July 16, 2015
BASKETBALL/HOCKEY NETS left on the road/ boulevards: HARMLESS or EYE SORE that should net a $90 fine? Tweet @am640oakley / 416-870-6400 — Lyndsey Vanstone (@VanstoneL) September 22, 2015
@VanstoneL @am640oakley a sign of kids not couch surfing. — Jaime Pulfer (@Pulfer680News) September 22, 2015
Ward 16 Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb refused to comment on the issue, and has called a meeting for Sept. 22 to discuss roadside safety in her area.
