A Sydney resident upset that a caravan was being parked in front of their house has persuaded the local council to declare that small section of public street a no-parking zone.
The whole issue of caravans being parked long-term on residential streets has blown up in recent weeks. However, it is not clear how likely it is that other local authorities will offer ‘customised’ parking restrictions in response to individual complaints.
With vehicle space on Queensbury Road in Penshurst – which is close to a park and a library – already at a premium, the loss of a couple of parking spots has really upset some in the area.
Neighbour Michael Bajjada told 9News that the saga began when he bought his caravan 18 months ago. A short time later, part of the street became off-limits.
There is now a new No Parking sign on Queensbury Road as per the proposal from a report to Georges River Council.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in this council area before,” he said. “Approving one person in a street to put up a no-parking sign because she doesn’t want anyone to park out the front of her house!”
A Georges River Council report showed the no parking zone was requested by the resident due to vehicles blocking her view while coming out of her driveway.
“The resident has advised that due to multiple large vehicles, trailers and camper vans legally parked within street up to the intersection of Argyle Street, there has been difficulties egressing their property on a daily basis with multiple near misses recorded,” the local traffic advisory committee was told last month. “It is proposed to extend the ‘No Parking’ restriction by 15m.”
The ‘No Parking’ restriction will only allow motorists to stop for a period of up to two minutes and they must remain within three metres of their vehicle at all times.
Despite it being a public road – consisting of two travel lanes and two kerbside parking lanes with a width of 12.4 metres kerb to kerb – 9New reports there was no consultation with neighbours over the changes.
“They could have consulted me, they could have perhaps asked me if I had a strategy about moving the caravan into storage which I would have obliged with instead of punishing the neighbourhood with less parking,” Mr Bajjada said.
He now wants the signs removed as he says they have impacted parking on the street for everyone, and he believes the process behind this sign’s installation sets a new precedent council simply can’t manage.
“What do they say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil …” he said. “If there is less parking in a street which is next to a park and a library then obviously that affects everyone.”
Cobb is offering Grey Nomad members the chance to win a Premier Kitchen in a Box. The prize includes a Cobb Premier & Carrier Bag, Frying Pan, Frying Dish/Wok, Griddle, Roasting Rack and Lid Extension. The award-winning Cobb system – which is simple to use and maintain – barbecues, roasts, grills, fries, bakes, smokes and boils.
Total Package value $399.95.
Click here to find out more about the prize, and how to enter.
Long term parking of caravans or campers, large vehicles is a hazard in residential streets, Restricting vision, access for garbage collection and delivery vehicles. To argue that council has removed parking in already limited parking is mute as parking a van there long term has already limited parking.
That’s rubbish. Not just the van restricted, no one can park there now. Not even the home owner. Where do her guests now park?
Caravans, boars, box trailers all have to be fully registered to remain parked on the road. Caravans cost hundreds of dollars to register in NSW and that gives access to parking as long as they are 4m from any double lines etc. Maybe council needs to stop the practice of narrow streets, one of the real culprits and stop acting like they own public property.
Rubbish if cars can park there why not caravans..
This in my opinion is bullshit..
Blocks are becoming smaller..
If you can,t park a caravan or boat on your property , DON,T GET ONE .They are a pain in the bum on the road . We have a dickhead parking a large trailer with a bobcat on it in our street .Traffic has to give way to others to get past. Council should not allow subdivisions with narrow streets .
This is not a first and it will not be the last.
Caravans are an eyesore and a nuisance left on streets. They should be banned. If you don’t have storage space on your property then put them into paid storage. They shouldn’t be allowed to impact on your neighbors.
Spot on, fully support your concerns.
Caravans an eyesore? Cars are an eyesore too then!
I agree. I own a big van and it’s an eyesore in a driveway let alone on the street
I totally agree with Helen. Anything that large and blocking your view or thoroughfare is a problem.
It’s done in other councils. These large vans, boat-trailers and especially trucks should not be there. They are dangerous and pose a great risk to residents and all road users. This street is not the only one with complaint based signage there is this street in Blacktown that has No stopping signs outside a house too.
Setting a precedent
As a van owner and a resident frustrated by the growing number of “toys” parked in our street, I think that if you have a van, motorhome, boat or (heaven forbid) an old car you are “doing up”, it should be accommodated on your own property. We measured the available space b e f o r e we bought our van and limited our choice to what would fit. There is also the option of finding storage space elsewhere. It is worrying though that a council would set such a precedent, as it could be open to abuse, but road safety should be prioritised.
I also bought a smaller van so it would fit off -road on my ptoperty
100 percent
Kathleen. Probably to do with the housing crisis? Not enough homes so people in vans. Thank God they are not sleeping on the side of the road! Caravans looking for a home is better than living in a tent or couch-surfing!
Until council help find a solution for survival, you will see more and more caravans on streets.
Please, see the reason and start campaigning for more legal areas for us to park. Need more caravan parks! Thanks.
There are quite a few caravans parked in streets around our area. They are a nuisance. We have no footpaths in all our local streets. In wet weather the nature strips get too soggy to walk along so we have to walk on the edge of the roads. When you encounter a parked caravan you have a choice, get wet feet on the nature strip or walk further out into the road & risk getting hit by traffic.
Simple really. If you don’t have room on your own property to store your RV/boat, don’t expect your neighbors to be hindered by it when trying to see past it when backing out ect. Don’t buy an RV unless you have arranged storage. Just arrogance in my book.
Might be their home actually.
Unless you are dual income it may not be possible to find somewhere to live in current housing arrangements.
Council needs to find places for these homes – people want to be legally living somewhere.
Maybe the council should arrange storage facilities for the caravans.It is almost impossible to find storage for caravans in most areas. The cost to purchase, register and insure a van is exceptionally high. In my opinion the councils need to contribute towards building storage places.A caravan etc is a registered vehicle after all.
You own the van or boat..park it in front of Your Place..not someone else’s.
Have compassion for other’s.
Yes they can be a menace but you must remember they have paid registration and are entitled to park but still connected to the tow tug and councils have no say in it ,the only thing they can do is fine you for storing a van if it has a cover over in and not connected .Been there legally and done that by LAW .Happy holidays
In most council area it is not legal to park in the street if the overall length is more than about 7 metres so if your car hooked up to the van is over this length it is illegal to park. If you unhook the van and move it 100mm it is legal.
That is exactly what my neighbors opposite us did. It made it virtually impossible to reverse our camper up our drive way because the roadway was reduced to half the normal width directly opposite the driveway. It was not a pretty caravan by any means, a semi rusty, faded aluminium box with more silicone and dings than rivets. Blue tarped windows. The best day of our lives was when he sold up and moved the heap of junk.
Not too sure a precedent like this is the answer. What is likely to be the next target?
heres another view of the caravan problem,this one caused by council.I park my van(16ft) on my property but because my street has all the older houses demolished and replaced by 2 or 3 units on the one block and they all have 2 or 3 cars or more in the family i have to ask neighbours to move when i take my van in or out which they are happy to do but surounding streets are so crowded i some times struggle getting past.I dont know how the garbage trucks do it.Approaches to council for some sort of control was told no,would upset too many residents
Thats it its all about councils cramming in house developments like sardines so that the adjoining garages almost touch each other and leaves no where to park comfortably in front of your own home.
What a beat-up story! The park and library have parking provisions, and if they are filled, there are plenty of local streets to choose to park in — Queensbury Road is not the only option.
Check through the history of Georges River Council meetings — there are numerous other instances where, for various reasons, residents have applied to have parking controls modified, and the application has been approved.
If it was 18 months ago that the caravan was purchased, it was far from a “short time later” that part of the street became off-limits — council records show the application was approved at the Georges River Local Traffic Advisory Committee meeting held on 6 September, 2022 — hardly a short time later!
This no parking zone has been approved in front of the neighbour’s own home — if Michael Bajjada is parking his caravan in front of his own property, instead of dumping it in the way of a neighbour, what’s his issue?
Blame Councils… they blindly created the problem! Huge land-grabbing McMansions from 1980 on were approved by Councils who never considered that those same applicants would someday return from their Big Trip to discover “uh oh…it’s just a short driveway!”. Of course they used their road-space! And any upset neighbour might WELL reflect that they blithely paid their rates WITHOUT PROTEST while such building approvals were granted next door! As you sow, so shall you reap, neighbours! Meanwhile, perhaps hubby/wifie can physically guide his/her fair lady/gentleman out of her/his driveway?
If they have one! Maybe go to Hire a Hubby or Wifey!!!??
People laughed when I built a house with a side access around a caravan I didn’t have. Now I have a van it’s down the back out of site & safe from thieves. Why would you park a van on the road that could get stolen or damaged. No parking sign a bit harsh maybe a few parking fine might work
long term parking of any large vehicle including caravans , should not be allowed in suburban streets, among other issues they are dangerous and block vision. if a person can afford to buy a caravan they can afford storage, or park it on their front yard, instead of in front of another persons
This is silly; the lady has not thought it through! By having a 2-minute stopping area outside of her home she will not have anywhere for her visitors to park. Will council have a lollypop person stationed in case she wants to safely egress her property? Why not just say “no caravan or large vehicles allowed to park in the street.”
“Signs, signs everywhere a sign” says an old song. Even if the sign is illogical such as this one in a street in Cleveland Qld.
Should not be permitted to park ANY large vehicle PERMANENTLY on the street. Imagine if every block of units had people whom owned caravans or boats and parked them on the streets?
If you cannot fit it on your personal property then don’t buy it. There’s a massive “entitled” attitude out there and this is another aspect of it, usually backed up with the excuse “I pay my taxes and rates so I can do what I like”.
Why don’t you just hire a caravan for the few months you’d be travelling?
Less inconvenience and cheaper one would think.
Mr Bajjada should have had the decency to consult with his neighbours before parking his caravan in the street. Why didn’t he park it outside his own house or better still in his own driveway? He sounds like a very selfish person with no consideration for others. Caravans, boats on trailers etc should only be parked on suburban streets on a short term (i.e. less than 24 hour) basis to allow for loading/unloading or cleaning before/after a trip.
The parking of caravans, boat trailers, horse trailers etc. is a major problem everywhere isn’t going to go away any time soon, but definitely needs to be addressed by councils, offending owners and residents. I feel that limiting the hours for parking of those vehicles could benefit all concerned. That allows for loading, unloading, cleaning etc.
But definitely NO long term parking.
Can’t stop a registered vehicle from parking, but local council can restrict parking hours.
If you cannot store your toys on your property you should not have them. Again be responsible for your own property on your property. I understand loading you van or boat for the day. But feel that parking these items on the street as normal storage is not acceptable.
Personally, I think parking in residential areas should exclude caravans, boats and any other non motorised vehicles AND be restricted to use by the owners of the property it’s in front of. Some time ago a family lived across the road from me. They owned four cars but were the only house in the area without any off street parking. So where did they park, yes, in front of my place making their problem my problem. If you can’t arrange for off street parking of your van or boat then don’t buy one!
Reading the comments Michael made about the new ‘No Parking sign’ now stops others like people visiting local library etc. Another sign answer could have been “no parking between 8pm to 8am” etc. or in other words no overnight Parking. No one with a caravan would then want to move it every night?
What a problem ,parking vans in streets barely wide enough for cars to get down between parked vehicles. What happens if firebrigade has to visit the street. There is a situation on central coast NSW where at end of street there is a Retirement Village with about 60 villas of0 aged/elderly live there, fire risk has to be higher. Do we wait for a problem or council is pro- active.
Why all the hype just move it you pay rates for your bit of realestate we all pay road tax it’s not yours it’s ours if you haven’t got room agist it or get rid of it your problem not anyone else’s
While I agree that the section of the street should not have been made a no parking zone I totally agree Caravans, Boats, old cars should not be parked on the street.
If you have a Caravan then park it on your own property or at a storage facility.
Caravans especially take up a fair bit of area and usually sit for quite some time between trips.
owner says that he has parked the caravan there for 18months, and if consulted then he would have obliged and put it into storage . . . why didn’t he put it in to storage 18months ago ???
I would agree that any vehicle you own should be parked on your property and the area outside allotted for you or your guests.
If you cannot accomodate vehicle on your property pay for storage
I live in WA we have narrow roads and parking bays I was told to move my van out of one of these bays(outside of my home) I was in the process of putting a gate into my yard. So I hurried the gate and moved my car to park there. I also bought the house making sure that I could get the van into the yard
I think that council should be doing what good for the majority.
Sick and tired off single voices be used to create power over everyone else’s thoughts and no common sense.
They all pay rates and registration.
Maybe they should in force Lawes like driving out your driveway in a forward direction.
Instead of punishing the whole street maybe allow further distance from driveways.
If the person is unable to drive safely maybe review there licence and there ability to drive.
Aren’t you sick of adjusting condition for people who are hopeless at driving and blaming all.
You bought the land not the street.
The street belongs to the public.
Push back and don’t let it happen or you will loose this and what’s next.
We too had a caravan parked in our narrow street. Unlike the Georges River council,the Holdfast council, nor the SA Police took no action stating that it was a registered vehicle. I would support the banning of all trailer type vehicles, including boats, being permanently parked on public roads.
There is a problem in canterbury bankstown with boats on trailers on residential roads the trailer regos are cheaper than vehicles so they seem to proliferate around the area the council does not have laws prohibiting this they must change this as they are taking up scarce parking space for locals.in narrow areas but as with all councils they think this is in the too hard basket to handle. So do nothing as usual my vehicle rego is more expensive than the trailers so they should be prioritised over the people who decide to buy boats an place them on trailers on public roads if you didnt have space to.put on your property you should have considered them to.be moored on the water where they belong.
Think with the growing number of ‘homes on wheels’ councils need to find a long term solutions. Especially being many of the ‘homes’ will be there for weeks to months. Most people are not happy about cars parked permanently outside their house so why ‘homes’?
My driver made a comment today seeing around parked cars was difficult, whilst exiting a carpark, how much more motor homes.
One rule for all. The rules are. It’s legal to park a caravan on the street if it’s Registered, Safe, Under 7.5 meters long, Less than 4.5 tonnes and parked 10 meters from a side street without street lights. If they show favouritism because certain home owners or renters have tormented or winged often enough to get a special law change that only benefits the winger, then every caravan, boat, trailer or anything at all that people park on nature strip’s indefinitely in NSW, each and every one of them should be issued with an infringement notice fine. Everyone no exceptions. But because there are a lot of “well to do” People with good connections, this will never happen. So it’s obvious that when people are legally parked on the road and council start moving the goalposts to change the law specifically to give advantage to a particular person and disadvantage another person, then this should be seen in the eyes of the law as a state public servant committing a crime themselves by showing favouritism to a member of the public and entrapping another member of the public by making what is legal in most other areas suddenly illegal in a chosen area. If the person who is disadvantaged does exactly the same as the person who winged to get signs changed then the person who authorized the changes should put things back the way they were legally done in the first place. It’s blatant anonymous abuse of power.
People shouldn’t be allowed to park their caravans, boats, trailers, on the street