Resident fumes over 'illegal' act plaguing Aussie street: 'Nothing gets done'
The furious local said there have been 'numerous' complaints made to council, but nothing has been done.
An Australian council has been called into action by a resident who claims nothing is ever done about an illegal parking act that's reoccurring around his home.
David, who resides in the scenic beach town of Gerringong on NSW's south coast, told Yahoo News Australia there have been numerous complaints made about cars parked on the footpath near his home. Despite this, he says no fines are being issued for those appearing to break the law – a claim his local council dispute.
A photo shared with Yahoo shows a narrow residential street with multiple vehicles mounting the kerb. As a result, half of each vehicle is on the road while the other covers the footpath.
This means those walking by can't use the footpath as intended, with David saying he's often forced to walk along the road instead.
"There have been numerous complaints to Kiama Council about parking on the footpath yet nothing gets done even though they confirm it is illegal," he told Yahoo. "We have to walk along the road on many occasions to get up the street, [it's] like this every day."
Council responds to resident's parking concerns
In New South Wales, it is a fineable offence to park on a footpath or nature strip and this includes on narrow roads where street parking is limited.
Kiama Municipal Council told Yahoo that a host of changes to the road were introduced in 2021 to "improve traffic flow, car parking and pedestrian safety".
This included changing the street to one way, introducing a no parking zone on the left hand side and widening the road and footpath.
Yahoo understands residents can park on the right hand side of the street, however fines will be issued if not enough space is left for pedestrians and other footpath users to safely pass.
"Council regularly patrols Morrow Street as well as our many other local roads, to ensure residents and visitors are complying with the new traffic and parking arrangements," a council spokesperson said, adding residents can contact their customer service team with any concerns.
"Non-compliance can and has resulted in fines being issued, both at Morrow Street and other locations," the statement said.
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