Randwick Parking Blitz Rubs Residents Up The Wrong Way

By Daniel Hutton on November 6, 2014 in News

With its notable lack of parking meters, many would think Randwick City is something of a safe-haven when it comes to avoiding the wrath of the dreaded parking rangers, particularly when compared to neighbouring Waverley. Lately, however, a spate of incidents has left local residents wondering whether Randwick Council has undertaken a blitz of sorts on its residential streets.

Clovelly resident Mitchell Scott was recently fined $104 for parking his scooter across his own driveway, despite never having fallen foul of the authorities for doing the same in the past.

“A friend’s car was parked in the driveway at the time so I made the decision to park across the driveway rather than taking up a valuable space on the street,” Mr Scott said.

“I couldn’t believe it when I came out and saw the fine on my bike. I hadn’t caused an inconvenience to anyone and it certainly wasn’t dangerous, yet here I was with a $104 fine. It’s an absolute outrage.”

Another Randwick resident, Georgina Gavaghan, was fined $173 for ‘not parallel parking in the direction of travel’ on Searle Street, a road that has a one-way section that creates considerable confusion for drivers looking for a parking space.

“I’ve been parking in that direction for over three years and never had a problem. Every day there are cars parked there facing that direction. You drive down the one-way street and it is natural to pull over where the spaces are on the right hand side of the road,” she said.

It’s generally accepted that Randwick Council only issues fines in residential areas when a formal complaint is made. In these instances, a ranger is sent to the location from which the complaint arose, and any offending vehicles in the area are booked.

Along with parking across a driveway and not parking in the direction of travel, rangers will often also book cars parked within ten metres of an intersection.

Garbage collection days appear to be when most complaints are made and fines issued, so it’s best to be particularly vigilant at these times.

At the end of the day, it’s unpleasant copping the occasional fine but it’s far better than living in a municipality riddled with parking meters. It would still be nice if Randwick Council’s parking rangers occasionally exercised a little more discretion, though.