Get moving: Parking on grass for rural areas

Q: Recently I was issued with an infringement notice for parking on a grass verge in St Heliers Bay Rd. The Road Code states that you must not park on the road if you can park off it without damaging grass or gardens. Is Auckland City Council above the law? Bronwen Looker, New Plymouth.

A: First of all, the Road Code is not legislation, and has no official legal standing, according to Andy Knackstedt of Land Transport NZ. However, most of the advice it contains is based on traffic law.

Auckland City Council has a bylaw restricting parking on grass verges, as do most urban councils. What the Road Code refers to, but does not make clear, is that if possible you must park off the road in rural areas, where there are often no clearly defined kerbs. The council has pointed out the confusion to LTNZ and hopes it will be rectified in future editions of the Road Code.

Q: Why doesn't the Water St motorway offramp northbound have a number? For years it was the only one with a number, now it's the only one without. And why doesn't the sign say which suburb it leads to? Julia Cameron, Ponsonby.

A: It seems that Water St was overlooked in the numbering exercise. However, this exit will disappear next month, to be replaced with a new Princes St offramp as part of the Waiouru Peninsula project. This new exit will be 441, to match the southbound exit. And there are other exit signs that don't name suburbs - Market Rd, Khyber Pass Rd, Symonds St, for example. In fact, a fair number of exits are named for the local road they lead to, not for the suburb.

Q: What is to happen to the old Nelson St offramp from the Southern Motorway? Mike Leggett, Auckland.

A: It will stay as an emergency vehicle access. Transit says it would be very difficult and extremely costly to demolish.

* Correction: A moped does need to carry L-plates if the driver has a learner licence. The Get Moving column on March 14 incorrectly stated that the plates were not required.