Expect to be dobbed in

The Far North's community boards are going to some effort and expense to paint their disabled parking spaces blue. This is aimed to make them even more obvious than the long-used wheelchair symbol has for years, in the hope of dissuading able-bodied drivers from using them.

And now Te Hiku Community Board is asking Kaitaia folk to dob in those who use them illegally.

Te Hiku Board member David Senior said council monitoring staff would take action if and when they received photographic evidence of illegal use. Pictures need to clearly identify the vehicle, along with the time and place. The $150 fine would then wing its way to the vehicle owner.

"It's important for people to understand that able-bodied drivers should not be using these parking spaces, whether or not they are blue," Mr Senior said.

"We're just painting them blue to make them even more obvious than they already are, and it's going to take us a while to get around to them all."

Most people had cell phones they could take photos with these days, he added, and photographic evidence of breaches would be appreciated and acted on.

Anecdotal evidence suggested that illegal use of disabled parking spaces had declined a little over recent times, but it still happened regularly in Kaitaia, and elsewhere, a council spokesman said. People often claimed that they were only stopping for a moment or two to grab some money at an ATM or make a quick purchase, he added, but even brief stops could cause considerable frustration and inconvenience for people who really needed these parks.