Cars parked bumper-to-bumper on the narrow road to McLaren Falls. Photo / George Novak
Visitors parking their cars "dangerously" at McLaren Falls prompted complaints to the police on Anniversary Weekend.
Cars were seen parked on dotted yellow lines to nab a close spot to the falls, some even sticking out, blocking part of the road.
Police cracked down on illegal parking on Monday, issuing a number of tickets.
Three drivers called to complain about the parking on McLaren Falls Rd about 1pm on Monday, a police spokesman said.
He said the issue was people were parking across both sides, which restricted the road to the width of one lane, and created significant risk.
"Parking in this way is very dangerous. We have received multiple complaints from members of the public and the council have also been notified of the parking issues."
A nearby resident in the area said the state of the parking on Monday was the "worst she has seen the whole summer".
Cars were parked all the way up the left side of the road, with many others parked all over the yellow dotted lines.
"When it is that narrow it makes it really difficult to see pedestrians."
There was plenty of space up the top where there are allocated car parks, but people were clearly too lazy to walk down, she said.
Joint Road Safety Committee chairwoman Margaret Murray-Benge said parking at the spot had been a "problem for quite some time".
Illegal parking in that area could be particularly dangerous, especially due to a large amount of foot traffic around the falls, she said.
Murray-Benge said people must also be able to access the bridge at all times for free-flowing traffic into the park and the surrounding residential area.
"It has been a challenge providing sufficient parking in such a confined and popular space."
A local farmer in the McLaren Falls area said she and her husband had travelled up and down the McLaren Falls road "every second day" for more than 50 years.
People parked dangerously, right back to the corner and even over the road sometimes, she said.
The couple were constantly driving tractors down the busy road, providing hay bales for the lifestylers in the area.
"I usually have to go down to the road and give my husband the all-clear as people just run across the road without looking."
The couple were a big part of the push for the pedestrian bridge that was erected in 2014.
"It can be really hard to get past and dangerous."
A spokesperson from the Western Bay of Plenty District Council said traffic and parking bylaws clearly pointed out where parking in that area was allowed, restricted and prohibited.
Two big business donations capped off the six-week fundraising drive.