As the backlash against people parking their caravans, trailers or boats long term on suburban streets gathers momentum, more and more local authorities are exploring what steps they can take to eliminate the practice.
Sydney’s Sutherland Shire Council is the latest to act, and has announced it is to implement a six-month trial of a of ‘No Parking, Motor Vehicles Excepted’ rule at a number of locations in the area. Offenders face the prospect of fines of $140.
Councillors unanimously backed the motion after they had received a ‘Managing On-Street Parking of Trailers’ report from officers.
It is understood that the council received several thousand complaints from local residents over the past year regarding the issue.
There have been growing numbers of complaints about caravans parked on streets. PIC: CIzza
The council also resolved to make submissions to the Minister for Transport and the NSW Attorney General seeking legislation reform around the trailer parking issue.
Sutherland Shire will seek feedback from the public during the six-month trial period, with a summary of the feedback and results of the trial eventually being reported to the Sutherland Shire Local Transport Forum, before a decision is taken on whether to make the new parking restrictions permanent, or potentially increase the number of affected locations.
Before the new trial was officially adopted, a council spokesperson told the Grey Nomads there had been a number of problems relating to caravans trailers and boat parking in streets.
“The issues raised included visual amenity, reduced sightlines, safety risks, and prolonged storage on public roads,” the spokesperson said.
And this issue is certainly not just restricted to Australia’s largest city. In October last year, the Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ) conference passed a motion calling for the state government to implement laws restricting on-street parking for recreational vehicles.
The issue, presented by the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast councils, now forms part of the LGAQ’s advocacy platform, although there was no immediate changes to any policy.
Even grey nomads appear divided on what the best approach is to this growing issue.
Previous discussion has seen a broad consensus that some streets are not suitable for long-term parking of large vehicles, but many also argued that – as long as the vehicle is registered and is obeying local regulations – there is no drama.
Ultimately though, the rising number of registered RVs, combined with shrinking block sizes, and often full and pricey vehicle storage facilities, has meant these vehicles parked on streets are becoming increasingly visible.
And that is making a lot of people unhappy.
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House blocks are getting smaller, Parking on the street is fine as long as you can see around the RV Plus some streets are getting norrower in newer suburbs. so its part of the councils planning and the developers fault.
We’re currently on holidays at NSW Central Coast where land is at a premium, so there seems to be quite a few vans parked on the streets. The issue here, is that the streets are relatively narrow, and the parked vans obscure views of children and pedestrians. Therefore, it’s a safety issue.
Caravanning in this amazing country is fantastic, and a real tourist industry boost. We need reasonably priced other options for parking vans. Maybe, all new developments/suburbs should have a designated van/trailer parking area at a subsidised rate for residents in the area. If, it’s found that there isn’t a need for this service then it could later be used for residential. That’s a win win!
I guess I will be the most hated person…but, I fully believe that if you can’t keep your own van/trailer/motorhome/whatever parked on your own property…then, you need to find ‘it’ another residence. Storage, someone else’s place, etc etc. There are different options available. Our street parking is precisely that…street parking, for residents, visitors, etc. NOT permanent storage for those that own gear, but can’t find space at home. We de-clutter our closets, to make room for additional/different purposes. Either people declutter/renovate/improvise to secure their new purchase…or, they seek out a new residence for that said purchase. If you can afford a camper/motorhome/bus/van etc etc, then surely before you purchase, would you not like to secure a secure parking spot for it? This does NOT mean the street that you live in!!! Casual, short term parking, yes of course. Long term storage…sorry. Just because it is ‘registered’ (woohoo) doesn’t mean it is entitled to a permanent spot outside your/neighbours/friends/someone else’s place.
Well…just my thoughts on it all. Hate away!!!
It is annoying that councils are restricting parking on streets that they allowed to be built the size they are! Without warning, we got a fine for having our caravan on a side street – no house frontages no driveways. And it had an indent parking area. We broke the rule by having a ‘long’ vehicle for more than an hour in a ‘built up area’. No definition of a ‘long’ vehicle was given and i think you could clearly state that there are degrees in the definition of built up areas.
Our street is narrow so we didn’t attempt to park it there. We thought we were doing the right thing – out of everyone’s way and safe for us. We were preparing the van for sale. Hume Council Victoria say no more.