Parking a pain in Ponsonby

Warren Dowson is angry about parking restrictions in Ponsonby Auckland. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Warren Dowson may not have moved to Ponsonby if he'd known he couldn't park his car on the street. He is another reader fed up with Auckland City Council's handling of traffic infringements and has received three parking tickets in recent weeks.

The 29-year-old animator recently moved from Wellsford to Ponsonby. He shares a flat that has one carport, forcing him to park on the road.

The council has a parking permit available for residents of some streets, allowing them to park on the street for as long as they like without being fined. Dowson investigated and believed he qualified before moving into his new pad. After reading about the exemption on the council website and applying, he was later told he did not qualify because the house he lived in had a carport.

"The website doesn't plainly explain that you must have a house with no access to the property for a car to be qualified to apply for the permit.

"I was told when I was first informed of the rejection that many people are rejected." The council website says eligibility is initially based on where you live and whether a resident parking scheme is viable.

"There are also other eligibility criteria, such as the number of permits already issued in your street, whether you have off-street parking and whether you live in a single or multi-unit dwelling," it says.

All Dowson wants is for the council to provide more information on the website.

Auckland City Council parking manager Dale Clements said the website covered most of the criteria for those eligible but "it's impossible to list all of them".