A Scarborough family finds itself in the penalty box, all because of their hockey and basketball nets.
Earlier this week, Tony Cacciatore found a notice of violation in his mailbox, saying the sports equipment was on the right of way – the narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street – and that he had three days to remove it.
“It came out of nowhere,” Cacciatore tells CityNews. “The net has been in place since 2019, when we first moved here. It’s never really bothered anyone. Garbage removal, solid waste, and snow removal happens without a hitch.”
“I wanna hear from the city and see what they want me to do about it, because I don’t think it’s a problem.”
The City says it encourages the use of hockey and basketball nets, but noted an increase in the number of nets being left in the public right-of-way. While sports nets are permitted on the curb when in use, they must be removed or set back on private property when not being used.
“The boulevard – the space between the sidewalk and the road – is part of the municipal right-of-way and must remain clear to support essential services like waste collection, snow removal and utility maintenance,” the City said in a statement.
Cacciatore says his kids enjoy playing basketball and other sports, and the physical activity helps keep them away from screens.
“I’ll have to take it down and wheel it back and forth, which is far from ideal, but we do what we have to do for our kids, right?” he said.
Cacciatore says he’ll be removing the equipment to comply with the city’s directive, but hopes a compromise can be found in the future.
“Let’s come together and figure out a way it can not interfere with the civil servants who have to remove snow, do the solid waste removal, but still have it available for our kids to play.”
