Tensions among residents in a populated beachside area continue to boil over in a seemingly never-ending battle to regain precious kerbside real estate.
Caravans, boats and trailers clogging streets in crowded suburbs continue to pose problems for locals.
For months, Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council has been grappling with the issue, wondering how best to crack down on the practice, including the potential of introducing new parking signage and rules enforcing vehicle-only areas.
In recent years, frustrated locals have resorted to vandalising unwanted vehicles, spraypainting words like ‘move’ and ‘f**k off’ with claims they’re either unregistered or parked illegally.
But an incident on the Esplanade in Narrabeen shows that many people oppose such action.
One fed-up local man hit out at the person responsible for vandalising several vehicles parked in the area. “These vehicles are all registered and parked legally,” he said, saying whoever did it is “self-entitled”.
A resident reported that seven cars, boats and vans were vandalised on The Esplanade, Narrabeen on Sunday night or early Monday morning.
In NSW, and most other states and territories, it is legal for boats, trailers and caravans to be stationed on the street in the same spot for up to 28 days. After this, it needs to be moved, and its new location needs to be “at least as far as a different block section of the same street”, according to guidelines.
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Residents claims the recent targets were legally parked with the owners doing nothing wrong. Source: Facebook/Andrew Small
Many locals are frustrated with the ongoing attacks on personal property, but some agree that the parking can be an issue.
Debating the issue, however, some suggest that public roads “belong to all” not just “the nearest resident”.
“It’s a shi**y thing to do…end of story,” another said.
Council has ‘no powers’ in relation to vandalism on local streets
While the Northern Beaches Council is aware of the incident, it says it has no power to act on the alleged vandalism.
“Council is aware that the vandalism of the caravans, boats and trailers took place on the Esplanade, Narrabeen,” it said in a statement to Yahoo News Australia.
“Council has no powers in relation to Malicious Damage offences; the NSW Police are the appropriate authority to investigate.”
NSW Police confirmed to Yahoo that investigations are currently underway “following reports of graffiti in Narrabeen”.
“Police were told on Tuesday, a van, a boat and its trailer were graffitied with spray paint on The Esplanade, Narrabeen,” they said.
Council previously told Yahoo that “registered trailers are allowed to park on the street”.
“Northern Beaches Council does not take action to seek removal of registered vehicles where a Council Ranger is satisfied the vehicle is legally and safely parked, in current registration, and appears to be in good order,” they said.
“In instances where any of these criteria is not met, a ranger may further investigate the vehicle in line with the relevant State government legislation.”
Widespread parking issue sweeping Aussie areas
The issue is rife across parts of the country, with Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, an area immensely popular with boaters and jet skiers, currently considering banning caravans and trailers from suburban streets after receiving multiple parking complaints.
On Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, residents continue to plead for tougher action as streets are suffocated by bulky vehicles, preventing locals from parking by their homes.
In 2023, a boat legally parked on the street on Sydney’s Northern Beaches was spray-painted with the words “f*** off”, prompting the owner to respond with a note outlining their right to leave the boat there.
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