Program helps taxis take advantage of hydrant space
Posted Aug 13, 2014 3:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In Toronto, fire hydrants have brought in more than $24-million in parking fines since 2008.
Here in Calgary, the haul isn’t nearly as lucrative at about $1.2 million, and in recent years the numbers have dropped about 30 per cent in the downtown core because of a new program.
It sees many hydrants used as taxi zones, instead of taking up valuable space elsewhere on the street.
Miles Dyck with the Calgary Parking Authority tells 660News, it’s a win-win for cabbies and other drivers.
“Because taxi zone spaces are at a premium, and they are looking for more space on street. So, this gives them that extra space that they need, while still providing the standard parking spaces for private vehicle use,” he said.
The hydrants that generate the most fines in Calgary are mostly in areas of high density housing mixed with commercial, including a number in the Beltline and one near Mount Royal University.
