Residents speak out over parking fines

A sporting celebration turned finding frenzy. Oh, I'm just nuts. The state seniors netball carnival are graceful. In April saw 2000 players, their families and officials descend on the small club for four days of matches, meaning parking was at a premium. We get parents parking about six blocks away to be able to get to the netball games. Those who could squeeze a spot on nearby Labour St. might have felt like winners. There would have been 50 or 70 cars until the council refs stepped in. Yeah, I got fined three times. In the end, council says it slugged 87 drivers receiving their $154.00 fines in the mail more than a month later. The fines apparently because the cars were parked perpendicular to the curb. It's just a real revenue collector for the council. Residents say they've parked like this for decades and they say there's enough space to do so. But that is completely illegal. Instead, the council wants cars parked parallel like this, despite the fact there's no signage and it is a much less efficient use of space. Residents have been exercising common sense. It's safe, it's practical. I will be limiting that to 20 cars really. By parking parallel residents, even creating their own signage to warn drivers and explain their actions. They quite often get people looking at us. Like look at that idiot, he's taking up three spots. In a statement, the Brisbane City Council says it aims to always strike a balance between the needs of residents and attendees and is investigating ways to allow angled parking along this stretch of Rd. The simple fix for this is to put angle parking signage in and allow residents to park in the same way they have for decades. Pat Haney, 9 News.