\u2018Disgraceful\u2019: Families told to surrender backyards<\/a><\/p>\nFor furious locals, the issue isn\u2019t just the fines. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s why council has suddenly decided to crack down on a longstanding practice that residents say has never caused a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have been here for 50 years,\u201d Ms Callaghan said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
<\/p>\n
Residents on a narrow Sydney street say they\u2019ve been blindsided by a council parking blitz that has seen \u201ceveryone\u201d booked for a habit locals claim has gone on for decades. Source: 10 News<\/p>\n
Matthew Crossingham said the fine he received wiped out \u201chalf\u201d his pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just outrageous, ridiculous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another local said residents had always tried to be considerate when parking, leaving enough room for people to get past on foot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this for so long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The anger has only deepened because just around the corner on Garden Street, kerbside parking appears to be accommodated with line markings and kerb ditches, leaving Meridian Street residents asking how the same council can effectively operate under two different standards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One resident says the fines took half of his pay. Source: 10 News<\/p>\n
The backlash has now reached the top levels of state politics, with NSW Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig stepping in to challenge the fines and accuse council of ignoring the street\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n
In an online video, Mr Hoenig said Meridian Street was designed in another era and simply wasn\u2019t built for modern on-street parking.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 60 and 70 years in this narrow street, (the residents have had to) park their cars up on the footpath,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they parked in front of their house, you wouldn\u2019t be able to get a car down the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hoenig, who said he had lived around the corner for most of his life, said the arrangement had existed for decades without issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut would you believe council rangers book every car? After 50, 60, 70 years, they said, \u2018that\u2019s illegal\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVirtually nobody goes into this street unless they live here.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The NSW Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig, has had a gutful. Source: Ron Hoenig<\/p>\n
He labelled the saga \u201cbureaucracy gone mad\u201d, but conceded he had no jurisdiction to overturn the penalties because the final decision rests with Bayside Council.<\/p>\n
The dispute comes amid broader frustration over suburban parking shortages, with many councils taking a harder line on vehicles parked across footpaths and kerbs. <\/p>\n
Councils argue the rules are there for a reason, saying footpath parking can create hazards for older people, parents with prams and residents with mobility issues, who may be forced onto the road.<\/p>\n
But for Meridian Street residents, the problem is simple: they say there is nowhere else to put their cars.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a nearby street, cars are allowed to park on kerbs. Source: 10 News<\/p>\n
Bayside Council has already faced criticism this year after updating its online reporting tool to make it easier for residents to report illegal parking. <\/p>\n
The added categories include illegal parking on council roads, vehicles blocking driveways and illegally parked heavy vehicles.<\/p>\n
In the Bayside area, fines can exceed $337 for offences such as blocking a footpath or parking across a driveway.<\/p>\n
\u2018Blatant revenue raising\u2019: Resident\u2019s fury at $128 fines<\/p>\n
The Eastlakes outrage is also echoing across the border in Victoria, where families on the Mornington Peninsula have accused their local council of revenue raising after being hit with repeated fines for parking on nature strips outside their homes.<\/p>\n
Residents there say they\u2019re trying to avoid blocking already narrow streets, but some have been fined multiple times in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n
Tyabb local Rebecca Kappe said she had parked on the nature strip outside her home for 16 years without issue before being fined two months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s infuriating because it\u2019s never been a problem before,\u201d she told 10 News.<\/p>\n
Her neighbour Jordan was also booked, receiving two fines in just three days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was never a problem, now there\u2019s a problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In Rosebud, resident Michael Hellwig said he had been fined nine times, leaving him more than $1100 out of pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just now blatant revenue raising,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Mornington Peninsula Shire has maintained that parking on nature strips is illegal under Victorian law and that officers are obliged to enforce it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A suburban parking crackdown has erupted into a full-blown stoush after residents on one narrow Sydney street were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-929693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}