Bunnings customer's fury over 'lazy' parking act sparks heated debate
Many people disagree over the use of designated parking bays which also include disabled and parenting spots at shopping centres.
A frustrated Bunnings customer has reignited the war on designated parking spots after noticing not one but three vehicles parked in the allocated "trade and trailer" spaces during their shop.
It's not uncommon for major Australian stores, shopping centres and supermarkets to have allocated parking spots for various needs, including disabled and pram bays for parents. But some frustrated Aussies are fed up with the spots being used incorrectly.
At Bunnings, the "trade and trailer" parking bays — located outside the timber and nursery sections of many stores — are "longer, wider and easier to use" for tradies with larger vehicles, or those with trailers attached, the hardware store's website states.
Presumably a tradie himself, the customer was furious when arriving at the Cessnock store in NSW to see three bays being used by regular vehicles, rather than larger work trucks or those with trailers. "Is it really that hard to read, big yellow letters on the ground saying trade and trailer parking," he raged in a Facebook group on Monday. "Every single time you come down here it's the same.
"Use normal car parking spaces, people with trailers need these spots," he added, suggesting they have no right to use them. But his remarks ignited a heated debate in the comments over the definition of a "tradie" with many arguing you don't need to have a trailer to park there.
"It says trade AND trailer parking. How do you know these cars don't belong to tradespeople with Bunnings trade cards?" one questioned. The poster argued that tradies without a larger vehicle or a trailer should be able to use a regular spot. "There were multiple spots right next to these, if you don't have a trailer, use common sense and park in those spots and leave these for people with trailers," he said.
Siding with the poster, one person said, "as someone who visits with a trailer regularly, there aren't enough [designated spaces]" and called people who use them "lazy".
Designated parking spots a major issue in Australia
Unfortunately, like disabled spots in privately-owned shopping centres, although designed with a purpose, there are no strict rules about their use and they're not enforced by staff. An elderly man learned this the hard way recently after witnessing another driver's "selfish" move at a shopping centre.
John Laine, 71, parked in a disabled parking bay in Campbelltown, NSW and on his return found a car parked on the dividing line between his and the adjacent parking spot — making use of the extra wide parking bays.
Parents with pram parking spaces are another contentious issue. According to motorist organisation the NRMA, they are provided by the owners of parking lots as a courtesy to parents who may require them, but are not enforced by law. And while management can tell someone to exit a 'parents with prams' spot, motorists are not breaking any law in parking there.
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