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We have never had any issues with the neighbours

In other words: the wee, and no so wee tots of Artisan Gardens have, in effect, been banned from enjoying any outdoor fun, at least on the community roadway. It is a draconian step that blindsided Christa Howard, whose daughter, Sophia, is three.

“I didn’t expect the bylaw to pass,” she said. “We have never had any issues with the neighbours.”

Photo by Courtesy of Christa Howard

Noble, the kindly grandma, is vice president of the strata council — she liked the sound of “vice president” better than “secretary,” and stuck with it — and voted against the bylaw. She is the only member of the board willing to speak publicly about the ban, which, she said, sprang from a genuine concern for the kids’ safety, but went haywire in its scope and execution.

“There is a blind corner here, and so there had been a few near misses with cars with the kids riding their bikes,” she said. “People were up in arms over it, and so that was the biggest concern by far.”

“But the bylaw is a bit harsh. We’re trying to calm down the situation and reach a compromise.”

I won’t back down. When it comes to my child, momma bear comes out

Howard, however, is finding it impossible to remain calm, as are the other young families in the area. She describes herself as someone who has never protested anything in her life, mostly because she is shy. But, of late, she has been talking to local radio stations, newspapers, going on social media and hollering, in an utterly sane way, about a nonsense bylaw that is a throwback to all the other nonsense bylaws (remember Toronto’s ball hockey ban?) that have come and, thankfully, mostly gone over the years.