Is it a good idea to warn drivers away from places where they are likely to get an expensive surprise in the form of a parking ticket?

Of course it is. And it’s a dumb question. But the city wants no part of giving drivers a heads-up about ticket traps and has quietly killed a pilot project intended to do just that.

We recently checked out a complaint about a ticket trap on the east side of University Ave., north of Queen St., where a fire hydrant on the far side of the sidewalk is hard for drivers to see.

Lawyer Robert Holland told us about “getting hosed” at the spot, in front of the courthouse on University, just north of Osgoode Hall, and seeing the same thing happen to other drivers.

When we got there, we thought it was familiar, and recalled a Canadian Press story in the Star that said it’s Toronto’s highest-yielding ticket trap. From 2008 to 2013, 2,962 tickets were issued, with fines totalling $289,620.

We noticed faded red paint on the curb in front of the hydrant, which had us suspecting it was meant to warn drivers. So we did some digging and found out it was indeed meant to steer people away from parking there.

In 2013, when Rob Ford was still mayor, he pushed transportation services to initiate a pilot project to alert drivers to ticket traps and other places they shouldn’t park by applying red paint to the curb in front of it.

The populist Ford personally painted the curb red on a summer day, saying, People are getting sick and tired of getting tickets.”

Another seven locations were selected for red paint, to be monitored over six to eight months.

Since the paint was fading and we never saw red curbs used on a widespread basis, it had us wondering what happened to the program.

Naz Capano, manager of planning and policy with transportation services, said they monitored the locations for 11 months and observed that parking in those spots was briefly reduced, but drivers soon reverted to their bad habits.

“We wanted it to be a success, and if it had been, we would have implemented it,” said Capano.

Other problems, such as snow covering the paint in winter, also worked against it, he said, adding they decided it wouldn’t be effective.

But what did the city do to educate the public about watching out for red curbs, we asked? There was something on the city’s website about it, said Capano.

It seems to us that if the city really wanted the pilot project to succeed, it would have implanted it more widely and made a serious effort to inform drivers about it. Perhaps a public education program.

Ford, who couldn’t be reached for comment, was onto something when he said people are sick and tired of getting tickets.

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And it’s hard not to conclude that it’s just fine with the city.