Warning issued over city parking

NEWS

The rapid expansion of residential projects in the inner-city means more and more people are coping parking fines for being unaware of Central Traffic Area parking restirctions.

The warning comes from Central Ward councillor David Hinchliffe, who says the issue is a growing concern.
“A lot of the fines that the council collects arise from that lack of awareness about the CTA. I have proposed a five-year program to roll out signs warning unsuspecting motorists and local residents about the restrictions which apply in the CTA. “The only signs that currently exist for the CTA are the large signs at the various ‘entry’ points into the CTA.
"There are plenty of local residents who don’t even know about the CTA.”
In an email to an innercity resident fighting several of these fnes, Cr Hinchliffe said: “As these areas become more populated and as parking becomes increasingly contested in the inner suburbs, there’s a much greater need for the special provisions and requirements of the Central Traffic Area to be spelt out through signage for unsuspecting motorists and local residents.
“For the last three years, I have asked each year of the relevant Lord Mayor (currently Graham Quirk and before him Campbell Newman) to allocate approximately $100,000 from the parking-fine revenue received each year by council to go towards installing more signs throughout the CTA. I've suggested that if that were done over a 5 year period, we could have hundreds more signs to warn motorists.
It is unrealistic to expect that every section of kerbside in every one of the hundreds of streets within the CTA will have large signs. However, I think it is perfectly reasonable to have a lot more signs installed with a message along the following lines:

PARKING WARNING: You are in the Central Traffic Area.
RESTRICTIONS APPLY
* Unless otherwise sign-posted, parking is restricted to 2P, Mon-Fri 7am-7pm. *Residents within the CTA may apply for Resident Parking Permits.

“I think this would eliminate a lot of ignorance about the Central Traffic Area. Of course the more informed the public is, perhaps the fewer people will be caught out breaking the rules – and that of course would result in less revenue for Cr Quirk and his Administration.
“In relation to your particular infringement notice, I believe on the basis of previous cases, this should be waived and withdrawn. That decision will be up to the council.”