A driver has called out an Australian council for fining motorists over the “stupidest of things” . He was recently forced to cough up $111 for parking on his mate’s lawn for less than an hour.
Maitland Hanley, 30, drove his Hyundai iMax van over to Logan Reserve, Queensland to help his friend with a recent house move. He decided, since it was a narrow residential street, his best bet was to park on his friend’s grass and not partially block the footpath or road for other users.
The move ended up being a costly one.
“Some council worker must have walked past at the perfect moment,” Hanley told Yahoo News Australia.
“The street is super narrow, so I thought, instead of parking half on the road, half on the curb, I’ll go up on his grass.
“I didn’t think it would be a big issue, because when I was younger, we used to park on the grass all the time.”
Have you had a nightmare fine? Contact sophie.coghill@yahooinc.com with your story
Driver accuses council of having ‘double standards’
Hanley didn’t know he had committed an offence until he received the fine in the mail weeks later, stating he had breached council rules by stopping on a nature strip.
The annoyed driver told Yahoo it was difficult to know where his mate’s lawn ended and the nature strip began, as the area was simply one large patch of grass.
He tried to appeal the claim, but the council said the boundary between the two is marked by the position of the mailbox.
Anything beyond it out the front of the residence is considered the nature strip, and parking is not permitted.
“I reckon it’s a dumb rule because if you think about it, it’s not his lawn, but when it comes to maintaining it, mowing it, everything like that, apparently it is his lawn. It seems like a double standard in that aspect,” Hanley said.
“If there had just been a courtesy knock to say, ‘Hey, you can’t park here,’ that would be cool.”
Council explains fine is the 13th of its kind this year
A City of Logan spokesperson told Yahoo parking on nature strips is not permitted under Queensland road rules, and the penalty is the 13th of its kind issued on residential streets this year.
“The vehicle was parked on a nature strip outside of the property boundary (public land) between two driveways in breach of Queensland parking rules,” a council spokesperson explained.
“Nature strips and grass verges function as pedestrian thoroughfares and must remain clear to ensure safe access for all road users.
On residential streets in Logan deemed too narrow, vehicles should be parked in a legal roadside area or within a property boundary.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
