Parking in front of a fire hydrant could cost you big bucks. Since 2010, 34,480 tickets were issued to drivers parked too close to hydrants in Winnipeg.
It’s a bad habit Cathy Kay said she sees all too often.
Kay works On Carlton Street, between Assiniboine Avenue and Broadway.
She watches people park in front of hydrants at least once each day.
"And then you tell them there's a fire hydrant there, and they say, ‘I'm just going to be a minute,’ and then they come out and there's a ticket and they get very, very upset, but it happens all the time,” said Kay.
Carlton Street between Assiniboine and York has the most offences in the city, with 2,808 tickets handed out in a four-year span.
Rue Valade between Despins and Dollard is next with 1,382 tickets issued.
Garry Street between Broadway and Assiniboine comes in third place at 1,268 tickets.
It's illegal for drivers to park closer than three metres from either side of the hydrant.
Tickets cost $50, but if you wait longer than 15 days to pay it, that ticket becomes $100.
If all drivers paid their tickets within the 15-day time period, the total cost of the 34,480 tickets issued for parking too close to a fire hydrant would be more than $1.7 million.
