Masterton call for parking rules clarity

These cars are parked correctly, nose-in, at the council-owned carpark outside Warehouse Stationery in Masterton. PHOTO/ANDREW BONALLACK

A Masterton man is calling for better signs to identify council-owned carparks after learning a $40 fine could be imposed for parking nose-out in an off-road diagonal park.

David Farlow, who sympathised with Carl Gilpin's angled parking story in Monday's Times-Age, said a member of his family was also ticketed for the same offence in a council-owned part of Warehouse Stationery and Uncle Bill's carpark last year.

"I do feel that MDC has failed to make it obvious to people what the parking requirements are," Mr Farlow said.

"We wanted to contest this infringement, given that there is no indication that it is administered by the local authority, there is no sign to indicate the direction to which cars should be parked, and there is certainly no kerbing between the parks to prevent drive-through to the corresponding, adjacent parks."

In New Zealand it is not permitted to park facing oncoming traffic on a roadway, and under a Masterton District Council bylaw, it is illegal to park in reverse in the council-owned off-road diagonal parking bays, with offenders being fined $40.

He said MDC should also have signs to indicate which carparks were under their authority, and what the rules for angled parking were.

"From speaking to others about this particular car park, no one has acknowledged that he or she was aware that it was an offence to drive through from one empty park to the other and, thus, parking nose out," Mr Farlow said.

"Who in their right mind would rush to the statutes and grab the 1998 Land Transport Act to take to bed for exciting bed time reading?

"If there was kerbing separating the two adjoining angle parks, then that would go some way to indicate to motorists that it was not possible to drive through one park to its adjoining other."

Mr Farlow said that if MDC wanted to encourage retailers in the CBD, then they should make it easier for people to come into town "rather than hound them over trivial parking issues".