Kitchener bylaw banning road hockey still on the books, but enforcement is discretionary: Councillor

A bylaw in Kitchener that has been on the books for years is gaining more attention after Mississauga upholds a ban of its own.

Earlier this month, Mississauga City Council voted to keep a ban on all sports played on city roads, including hockey and basketball. Kitchener was used as an example of a city that still has a ban in place.

While the bylaw is in place, Kitchener City Council has told staff to use discretion when enforcing it. If a complaint is filed, Ward 8 Councilor Margaret Johnston said that staff will work with those who filed the complaint and the players in the street. She said the bylaw officer makes the call on whether the street is safe to play in, or if players should play somewhere else, like a schoolyard or a park.

“Bylaw has always been successful in resolving these types of complaints,” said Johnston. She added that, to date, there have been no charges laid in relation to street sports.

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“The bylaw actually provides us a tool to use if people aren’t working with us or are being unsafe. So, we are pretty comfortable with the bylaw we have in place.”

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic provided the following statement:

The City of Kitchener has a long history of supporting an active lifestyle amongst our youth, and looking to provide locations and opportunities throughout the community for those activities, wherever possible, while always ensuring that participant safety is at the forefront. Sports like road hockey are one of those activities, and are a big part of being a Canadian youth growing up.

I’m looking at this previously, we learned it’s necessary for a bylaw to remain on the books to ensure overall roadside safety, (hockey on Fischer-Hallman Road is a problem versus it generally being ok on a cul-de-sac, for example).

But to be clear, City Council has previously directed our bylaw enforcement staff to use discretion and work with residents if we receive complaints – which is what we do. Our bylaw team does not go out looking for on-street activity infractions proactively, and only deal with them in response to community safety concerns when they are called in, working to find a workable solution balancing safety while providing places for youth to be active, where reasonable.