Add Signs or Road Markings to Tell People to Stop Parking Within 3m of This Fire Hydrant

From "Lets Talk Traffic Willowdale"

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Next to 6 Anndale Dr, there is a fire hydrant. According to City of Toronto bylaws [1], you cannot park within 3 m of the "'imaginary line' on the point on the street where the hydrant is located. A fire or rescue vehicle must have unimpeded access directly in front of the hydrant regardless of how far back the hydrant is located from the curb." People keep blocking access to the fire hydrant from the road by parking cars within 3 m.

Today (July 26, 2026), three separate times, there have been pairs of cars parked that have blocked off access. One of these cars had been ticketed the night before at 10:38 PM and it was still there when I came by at 11:11 am. The other two times there were different cars there at 8:08 pm and 9:50 pm. So in total, there have been six individual cars parked such that access to the fire hydrant was blocked.

A lot of people live in this area, so if a fire does occur, many people will be affected and it is important for emergency services to have unobstructed access to fire hydrants. This is a public safety issue and it is very inconsiderate for people to park and block fire hydrants.

I propose adding signs or pavement markings to deliniate where you cannot park because this is a reoccuring problem. I report a car parked within 3 m of this fire hydrant almost weekly to Parking Enforcement at this point.

[1] https://www.toronto.ca/home/311-toronto-at-your-service/find-service-information/article/?kb=kA06g000001cw2sCAA

Images are attached to show that there were six unique cars parked such that the fire hydrant was blocked today.

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Profile of catharine barker

Posted by:catharine barker

2 days ago

Pavement marking may be more effective at guiding behaviour—and I agree there is a current clutter of street signs... BUT WHY has the city placed decorative planters directly next to the fire hydrant. This is a serious safety concern. Hydrants should stand completely alone for a few critical reasons: 1) Restricted access is unacceptable. Firefighters require rapid, unfettered access from all angles. A planter blocks a full side of approach. Don't force personnel to work around an obstacle when seconds matter. 2) For visibility, fire hydrants rely on specific colours and shapes to be instantly recognizable. Placing a large planter next to one masks the visual cues and impedes detection - by emergency AND by those parking. Convert the photo to B&W, or view at night – and the hydrant blends in. 3) A hydrant has a singular, life-saving job. It needs to stand alone as sentry with authority and uncompromised. Decorating the streets should never come at the expense of public safety. First move should be to make this more visible and ensure a clear radius is maintained -- should be the case for all emergency infrastructure.

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Profile of Michele A

Posted by:Michele A

2 weeks ago

Agree with signs, but we should all know not to park next to a fire hydrant. The city has put in place many pavement markings, but no education as to what the markings mean. The city needs to rethink how they implement pavement markings and signs. Some intersections in the GTA have so many signs and markings you get distracted by trying to read and make sense of them all.