A Quebec father taking his young daughter for a walk in her stroller on a residential street was shocked to get a $48 ticket for walking on the street.
Danny Cohen, of Cote-St-Luc, a suburb of Montreal, said he initially thought the police officers were joking.
鈥淚 asked them if they were kidding and they said 鈥楴o, absolutely not, we鈥檙e going to give you a ticket for walking in the street,鈥欌�� he said.
He says he frequently walks in the street beside the sidewalk because he鈥檚 trying to get his baby to fall asleep.
鈥淚t鈥檚 much more comfortable to be cruising along the streets next to the sidewalks because the bumps and grooves in our sidewalks aren鈥檛 in the best condition,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was trying to have my baby sleep.鈥�
Cohen considered fighting the ticket but walking in the street does violate .
鈥淚 think there might be a certain amount of generosity in a police officer鈥檚 review of the situation,鈥� said lawyer Eric Sutton. 鈥淏ut I think when someone is pushing a baby carriage, it鈥檚 an issue of public safety.鈥�
Cohen says he sees many walkers and runners use the streets in his residential neighbourhood.
麻豆传媒 talked to several pedestrians who called the fine 鈥渞idiculous.鈥�
鈥淚 find that shocking because we walk on the street all the time,鈥� said one woman walking with two young boys. 鈥淚 had no idea it was against the law. I would have gotten ticketed a million times over. There should be bigger fish to fry around here, right, than just someone walking in the street.鈥�
But another neighbour told 麻豆传媒 that there have been a number of complaints about people walking in the streets in the area. Montreal police did not confirm that.
鈥淓veryone knows about jaywalking, but who knows about not walking in a quiet neighbourhood off to the side of the street?鈥� said Cohen.
With a report from CTV Montreal鈥檚 Kelly Greig
