Sydney woman slams 'ridiculous' $275 parking fine outside home
A Sydney woman was shocked to see she'd been slapped with a $275 fine after parking her car in a residential street, with claims her car was blocking a driveway.
Elly Belfort, from Summer Hill in Sydney's Inner West, said she'd been struggling to find a park last Wednesday when she arrived home, so she squeezed her Mini Cooper in the only place she'd seen.
"It's really hard to find parking here. I have an issue with my knee and the closest parking spot was really far," Ms Belfort told Yahoo News Australia.
Ms Belfort's knee had been hurting so she couldn't walk far, but she had no reason to think she'd parked incorrectly.
The next day when she returned, she spotted the fine on her windscreen.
"It's ridiculous," she said.
Ms Belfort shared a photo of the questionable park on Facebook, admitting she was "perplexed" – and others overwhelmingly agreed.
"Oh that’s just nasty. I would contest that," one wrote in the comments.
"It's close, but I can't see that you're obstructing the driveway at all. There is plenty of room to drive in and out," said another.
But one pointed out the "car is clearly overhanging the wing of the driveway," meaning she had technically parked in front of it.
"My general rule is to ensure my car doesn't pass where the curb begins to dip for the driveway," one explained.
Plans to contest fine: 'Little hope'
Ms Belfort suspects one of the residents called the council to complain, particularly because she had a run-in with them just two weeks prior.
"A few weeks ago I parked there. I heard [the residents] start yelling at me saying 'how do you expect me to drive away you're blocking my driveway'," she said.
"They had no manners. They said they're going to call the council."
But nothing came from it so Ms Belfort assumes they didn't follow through with it. At least not until she parked there again.
"I assumed they probably called the council because I find it really hard to believe that a ranger would fine a car parked like that," she told Yahoo News Australia.
"I've parked my car like that many other times in many other places and never had an issue."
Ms Belfort believes she was unfairly fined and has plans to contest it.
"I hope for the fine to be waived, but to be frank, I have very little hope that it will," she said.
Inner West Council reviews parking fine
When contacted by Yahoo News Australia, the Inner West Council explained that, technically, she was parked incorrectly.
"Road rules note that no part of the vehicle should be on or across the driveway (including the layback)," a spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
"However, in this case, Council has reviewed the situation and will change the original fine to a caution."
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