Masterton woman protests parking fine

Parking wardens are over the top and overzealous, says Masterton resident Lyn McDonald.

Her comments come after the district council began advertising reminders in newspapers to "park safely and courteously".

Chief executive Wes ten Hove said their primary concern is safety for road users.

Mrs McDonald recently received a $60 parking ticket for "inconsiderate parking".

She said she didn't feel her parking was inconsiderate as she didn't have much choice because of the car parked behind her.

"I was parked on the main street and the way the car behind me had parked, only left a bit of space."

"I was jammed up."

She said she parked her RAV4 "probably half a wheel" over the white line.

A parking warden's photo of Mrs McDonald's car shows it is parked over the line, and near a fire hydrant.

Mrs McDonald said when she got out of the car, she could see she was parked over the line but it was the only available space.

"I was in a hurry and I didn't have time to drive around looking for another park."

She said she paid the fine after unsuccessfully contesting it with Masterton District Council.

"I think they should have considered my reasons for why I parked the way I did."

Four Facebook users told Times-Age they had been given fines for the same reasons as Mrs McDonald. "I got a $60 ticket for inconsiderate parking a few weeks ago, I parked between two cars that were already there and didn't even think to check the lines." wrote Rachel Laird.

"I wrote in about it but they wrote back saying we had to pay it, we were gutted."

Nathan Robinson wrote: "Same happened to me, front bumper was slightly over white line because the muppet parked behind me was over their line, got a $40 fine grrrrr"

Mrs McDonald said she couldn't remember if the car behind her was gone when she returned to her car.

Her parking would have looked particularly bad if the car was gone, she said.

Under council bylaw, $60 fines can be issued for double parking, inconsiderate parking and parking on broken yellow lines.

They can also be issued for parking on or within six metres of an intersection, a pedestrian crossing or parking in an area reserved for hire or reward.

Mrs McDonald said the car behind her had parked inconsiderately.

"There are so many things that you could throw back at them, I could really tell you about lots of inconsiderate things they do."

A resident in the town for 30 years, it was her first ticket for inconsiderate parking.

She said she had been given three tickets in a short time.

"I reckon it must have increased, they are really policing the street."

Mr ten Hove said inconsiderate parking which squeezes the carriage width has an impact on cyclists and other users.

"The car parking we provide is for everyone and considerate parking allows maximum usage.

"We offer free parking on the fringes of the town centre and time limit or metered parking in the higher demand areas in order to ensure turnover.

"We encounter issues with inconsiderate parking blocking entranceways and reducing the width of disabled car parks, which are designed to allow easy access."