This post is replicated with permission from Sydney from Eye On Auckland

This is PART 1 of a 3 PART series:

I walk around the city on a daily basis and I have subsequently noticed that illegal parking is out of control. If nothing is done to curb the problem soon we are heading for disaster. I have lived in a Country where you let this slide and then you let that slide, before you know it matters are out of control and there is no way of getting things back to the way they were. I partially blame Shared Spaces (more on this mess in a future post) for the chaos that is ensuing on our inner-city streets. The rules for Shared Spaces stipulate that no parking or loading is allowed before or after the following hours, 6am-11am (Monday to Sunday, including public holidays). Unfortunately the complete opposite is taking place. Auckland Transport and The Auckland Council are turning a blind eye and allowing vehicle users to park in shared spaces at all times of the day.

This brings me to the point that I am trying to make – if rules are there to be broken without any form of repercussions then why should anybody care where they park ? Free parking for all, where ever and when ever you like. It appears that the entire city is one big Shared Space. To hell with pedestrians, to hell with the handicapped, to hell with the visually impaired, to hell with parents who have strollers and to hell with the children who use  the sidewalks. This is the sort of attitude that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our city. On the other hand, the Auckland Council is promising us a people-friendly city where people come first and foremost, they sell us a dream i.e. the World’s most liveable city.  Yes it is possible – for automobiles and not people.

The next set of photographs will leave you dumbstruck. Where is Auckland Transport ? Who is responsible for this mess ? as ratepayers and proud citizens of this wonderful city we deserve some answers and immediate action. Meet the ignorant, lazy and selfish drivers that reside in our fair city:

1. Wai-atarau Plaza [formerly known as The Rob Roy Plaza] – located between Franklin Road, Victoria Street West and Union Street:

Recently refurbished and part of The Victoria Park Tunnel Project, Wai-atarau Plaza (thanks toArchitectureNow and our very own Patrick Reynolds for the photographs) is a pleasant and modern space for people to use but some people have other ideas and would much rather use the plaza as a car park. Quite frankly they couldn’t care less. Parking on the plaza gives you front door access to The Victoria Park Markets, it is free and extremely convenient. I took it upon myself to contact Auckland Transport and I provided them with details of  illegal parking on the Plaza. I was told that a warden will be there soon. I waited for an hour and ten minutes and nobody showed. During that time cars had gone, more arrived and then they were gone – so it continued. The offenders got away with it and will continue to do so.

What is even more ridiculous is the fact that these cars would drive on and off the plaza between the traffic lights where people stand to cross the road and at the pedestrian crossings. Is this some Mickey Mouse society we live in ? Let’s not forget that small children are taught that they are safe on the pavement. They are also taught that they can run around and play on public plazas. In lieu of this fact I contacted Auckland Transport on the 12th of October 2012 and I made the suggestion that they install bollards where there is easy access onto the plaza. I received the following response from Auckland Transport:

“To prevent access to the plaza would require a large number of bollards and access would still need to be maintained for service vehicles.  This is not currently considered justified, however we will monitor the situation, and may make changes at a later stage”.

Will Auckland Transport take responsibility for the death of a toddler because they didn’t take the necessary precautions to prevent people from driving and parking on a public plaza. Will it only be justifiable when it is too late ? The installation of 3, maybe 4, bollards is all it will take and I am willing to show them where to place them. Access is easy if you have a key to remove the bollards, which most service vehicles should have. There are simply no excuses when lives are put at risk and quite frankly we don’t want our plazas to be used as free-for-all car parks. These are just some of the images that I have captured over the last couple of days:

2.Victoria Park Markets – Union Street:

Directly across the road from Wai-atarua Plaza is The Victoria Park Markets. Nobody can forget how awful The Victoria Park Markets were but that was then and this is now. I for one love the new look and it is shaping up to be a market full of promise. The only issue is the public access on Union Street. Here cars block pedestrian access without a care in the World. I don’t know if the blame for this bad design lies with the developers of The Victoria Park Markets or with the Auckland Council but it needs to be fixed.

The bollards are in the wrong position and should be placed closer to the edge of the pavement so that cars can’t park there and consequently obstruct pedestrian access. People in wheelchairs or parents with strollers have to use the street and let’s not even begin to imagine how the visually impaired will have to cope. Come on people, use a couple of brain cells when you plan these things and do it right from the start – think about people first and foremost, not vehicles.

3. Victoria Skatepark – Beaumont Street:

Yet another great addition to the area, just a shame that we have a few who would like to spoil it for everybody else. This is an area frequented by children of all ages. As I have stated before, we teach our children that it is safe on the sidewalks and grass verges but that is unfortunately not entirely true in Auckland. All it will take is for some small child to sit on the grass verge behind a parked car and/or for some child to be skating along the pavement to be knocked over by an over-zealous buffoon.

Now before anybody tells me that there isn’t enough parking, think again. I have seen lots of parking spaces available in the surrounding area. There is no excuse for this sort of behaviour. It is against the law to park on grass verges and where there are yellow markings on the road.

If it’s a problem to find parking there are other solutions. Use public transport, walk, ride your bike, skate or scoot. If I had been involved with the planning of this area I would have made provisions for bollards along the entire skatepark periphery – we are dealing with “challenged” teenagers here who couldn’t care less about the safety of others. I have also reported the issue of illegal parking at Victoria Skatepark to Auckland Transport on numerous occasions and one would think that they would patrol the area on a regular and daily basis but to no avail.

In the photograph below it is quite clear to see that there are tyre tracks on the pavement, proof enough that cars are driving here:

The solution to the problem is to place similar bollards as the ones that already exist at Victoria Park along the periphery of the skatepark on the road side – along the entire length of the skatepark and not just two or three. The solution is easy and children’s lives could be saved. Parents should not tolerate this kind of ad-hoc planning: 

PART 2 [Wynyard Quarter | Viaduct | Quay Street | Queen Street] is guaranteed to blow your mind when you see how badly planned things are in Auckland. Vehicles are still the top priority and people come second. Auckland Council is going to have to put their money where their mouth is, lip service doesn’t cut it anymore and this issue is not going to go away, I will be keeping an Eye on Auckland with my camera at the ready to capture these dimwits in action until I see results.

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89 comments

  1. Hard to say whether the planning or the enforcement is at fault here. I kinda like minimal use of things like bollards but that means stricter enforcement than what’s happening.

  2. Cue NZ Herald headlines ‘Revenue grab from innocent motorists’. After all I can’t see anyone in the pics actually warning motorists not to park there, though I did see that recently in Elliot St.

    1. I’m guessing political ramifications. Len Brown and the current council are still in a precarious position. When you have the the Herald, Cameron Brewer and the AA among others losing their collective faeces over bus lane fines I imagine they feel that they have to tread carefully on this issue. I hope that once the election is done and they get another three year mandate they can launch a campaign over this. That way the bad press will be forgotten by the time the next election rolls round.

  3. The parking pictured at item 2 should be regarded as no more acceptable than parking on the street that blocks someone’s driveway.

    Friendly editing suggestion: posts are more readable if you break up long paragraphs.

  4. I’ve tried to report illegally parked motor vehicles to AT on a number of occasions with photographs and it’s amazing the number of excuses I’ve received as to why they are unable to do anything. These include assertions that they were ‘unable to locate the address’; that I had ‘not adequately described the vehicle or its number plate’ (clear in the photograph); and that they were disinclined to follow up the matter as there were ‘no indications as to how long the vehicle had occupied the footpath’. Motorists remain protected species to the powers that be at AT, especially outside the CBD. Another trend I’ve noticed recently is people parking in public reserves, i.e., because they can no longer park in the street, for whatever reason, they drive up the pedestrian right-of-ways and park on the grass; again, neither AC nor AT appear to have any interest in chasing the matter up.

    1. I have complained numerous times about the domain being full of cars parking all over the grass, first time the council claimed they couldn’t do anything because it wasn’t sign posted – this is despite big signs entering the domain stating that and also parking law in Auckland stating no parking on berms and reserves, when I pointed this out they claimed that it is a reserved and as such Auckland Transport isn’t responsible it is Auckland Council – yet Auckland Transport is the only one with parking wardens. End result if you need to park somewhere in the domain don’t park on the road just park on the grass as no one will ever bother to enforce it.

  5. My first thought was that this post is way below your usual standard Matt L (language, paragraphing, hyperbole etc), then realised it’s a guest post. Very relieved.

    Then after reading the intro I was expecting to see masses of cars parked everywhere – big disappointment! Sure, it’s illegal parking and the safety points are well made, but a somewat overblown post all the same, almost to the point of crusading.

    1. Overblown? Probably, if you believe you have a god given right to drive and park where you like. But I live in a city (KL) where a blind eye was turned to parking practices and the result is, quite frankly, chaos. And it’s difficult to see how the mindset of drivers can be reversed here – there certainly isn’t nearly enough tow trucks or police to enforce the rules. Auckland is on a slippery slope in that direction.

      Double (sometimes triple) parking causing streets to come to a standstill, already poor pedestrian strips cut off by off-road parking, delivery points rendered useless because someone has decided to park their BMW there all day, public spaces handed over to parking because drivers are too lazy to walk 100m from the nearest carpark or too cheap to pay NZ$2 for a park. I’m convinced that much of the city’s famed traffic congestion (on the side streets anyway) is due to inappropriate parking bringing two lanes down to one and choking entry/exit points. And I haven’t even mentioned the illegal parking…..in carpark lots.

      I don’t have a problem with all of the infringements in the photos above (I’m OK with the parking on the grass embankment near the skate park provided their isn’t nearby alternatives, as opposed to blocking the footpath or a lane on the road). But otherwise it’s arrogance. If it hasn’t been designated a park there is a reason for that. To just ignore that for your own convenience you are, really, a pr!ck.

      Come to KL, jonno1, and see the result of letting this stuff happen. I can’t see how anyone would think the end game is acceptable.

      1. I haven’t been to KL, but I know it has a population about 6x that of Auckland which might have a bearing on the problem. I have been to Rome though, where parking two- and three-deep is endemic (multi-lane streets of course). The locals explained that you leave your car unlocked so it can be rolled away to let another out. A pragmatic approach. My funniest experience there was waiting at lights (RH lane) with maybe a 2m gap to the car in front. Suddenly a Smart car turned into the gap from my left, onto the footpath (no street parking this close to the lights), left, right at the light, then back onto the road. No-one batted an eyelid, not even the pedestrians who politely moved out of the way.

        1. And I’ve seen pedestrians spit on a car that thought it would park on the footpath in France.

          I’m with the French spitters. Cars are obtrusive and dominate space, so they must be controlled, so that they don’t infringe on the rest of us.

        2. France is not the best example – the cycleways in PAris are practically useless in many suburbs, because drivers don’t care they are there. Park across them all the time.

          Fully agree with this post – needs to be enforced more harshly, and bollards – and decorative rocks, for all it takes on grass berms – placed around the worst spots.

        3. “I haven’t been to KL, but I know it has a population about 6x that of Auckland which might have a bearing on the problem”

          Its also about 5 times the size of metro Auckland, with probably only half the cars per household. So ignoring your irrelevant point, Auckland will end up with the same problem relevant to it’s size. Which will be a disaster.

      2. I have just come from living in Bucharest, Romania, a city with an official population of around 2.5 million. About where Auckland is meant to be in 30 years time. That city is practically unliveable because of the rampant illegal parking with almost zero enforcement. There is only one thing motorists understand in this context and that is fines. There is a plethors of parking buildings in Auckland (unfortunately as they are the ugliest buildings possible) and motorists should be forced to use them.

        If a bicycle jumps an empty intersection on a red light then that is the end of the world. But if a motorist parks on a footpath/cycleway blocking dozens of people’s enjoyment of that areas, it is just the pedestrians/cyclists being precious.

        Really tired of the motorist hypocrisy in Auckland. Follow the rules. They are there for a reason. If someone parked in that same motorists suburb so that it blocked cars, that would be a major issue with letters to the editor/council galore.

  6. I don’t think this is in any way acceptable, and come Tuesday I will be seeking a full answer from Auckland Transport, and insistence on full attention paid to this problem.

    I have advocated for bollards in the past and have been given the brush off from officers; no longer.

    Christopher Dempsey
    Waitemata Local Board.

    1. Mike Lee will probably be happy to be an ally on this, given that shared spaces are almost his baby and taking back the city from traffic is very much his agenda.
      Always nice to see elected officials who’re engaged with their community and prepared to take on “the machine” over deficiencies in how it handles misbehaviour.

    2. Thanks for being proactive Christopher. I would like for you to wait until I have finished Parts 2 and 3 so that you can cover all the issues and areas. Trust me, this is nothing compared to what I am about to show. Thanks again for your concern and I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great Anniversary weekend.

  7. Yes – a personal bugbear of mine. Most of the examples I see are around school at pick up/ drop off time. You would think parents (mostly mothers) would put the safety of children more highly than their own convenience but sadly for some this does not appear to be the case. Good luck with your efforts Mr Dempsey.

  8. parking issues are not helped by some inexplicable decisions from AT, recently two parking spaces were marked in the Northcote Shopping Centre on a corner approaching a pedestrian crossing,

    sanity prevailed and the broken yellow line was repainted and the parks blacked out, but they remain sufficiently visible on the road to give some apparent legitimacy for people to still stop there, DOH!

  9. As a pedestrian of many years (though also a car owner) nothing pisses me off more than cars invading space set aside for those on foot. Visiting Auckland, I leave my car at Pukekohe and catch the train in to Auckland to catch up on what has been happening in my old home town. I’m infuriated by the seemingly endless motorists who wont give you an inch, who will steal your pedestrian space and generally treat you like second class citizens.
    In Wellington and Lower Hutt this would simply not happen. A couple of years ago Parkwise (Wellingtons eagle eyed enforcement agency) sacked a number of its staff for not dealing with errant motorists in an even handed manner. Auckland could do with a bit of the the Parkwise approach.

  10. “no indications as to how long the vehicle had occupied the footpath”

    Any longer than zero is not legal, so a photo showing no driver in the car should be enough, surely.

    People not exercising the powers they hold on our behalf pisses me off. If they don’t want to, then AT should hire people who will. Again, I welcome an official response from them about this dereliction of their public duty.

  11. Here’s an example of an official response:

    ‘Dear Dr T,

    Thank you for your phone call and reply.

    I have called Auckland Transport immediately after your phone call to log a request for the vehicles parked on the footpath and grass verge to be investigated.

    However the team at Auckland Transport cannot locate 22 Puriri Street New Lynn in their system and therefore they are unable to log my request on your behalf as they need more details such as the exact address and registration of vehicles. I have tried to explain to the customer service representative to log an estimate address, but have not had success.

    As advised by the customer service representative from Auckland Transport, the best alternative is for you (who has had visual witness to the infringing vehicles) to call Auckland Transport on (09) 355 3553 whereupon a job will be logged through to our parking team.

    When the job is logged a reference number will be provided to yourself and the complaint investigated within one hour. The call centre for Auckland Transport is open 24/7 should the problem also occur after hours.

    I am sorry I cannot assist you further.

    If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.

    Naku noa na |Regards

    Written Communications Team
    Auckland Council’

    1. “the team at Auckland Transport cannot locate 22 Puriri Street New Lynn”

      Maybe AT is using Apple Maps on their GPS Navigation System?
      Google Maps knows where it is so perhaps time for an update to Google Maps on your Apple iPhones guys?

      I think we expect way, way better than this from AT, but sadly it seems par for the course based on my experiences with AT to date.

      I recently chased up AT as to what has(n’t) happened to the footpath renewal works down College Road, St Johns – one side is sort of done, the other side not even started.

      AT’s response when I finally got to speak to someone, – which I only did after I chased them about 3 times to find out was (not) happening was:

      “Works still ongoing, but we need to talk to the council aborist about assessment for some trees on the berm and they all busy so the work is on hold until then”.
      That was some 3 months ago. Nothing happening, no updates, no nothing.

      Maybe the arborists also use Apple Maps and were sent to the wrong College Road for the tree assessments – so the’re all back to square one?

      While I see Mr Dempsey from the Waitemata Board is going to complain, good luck.
      I’m sure they’ll listen politely, note his complaint down, whether they do anything – well thats a different story.

      I saw several times last year that the chair of the Orakei Local Board has at just about all the local board meetings I attended expressed open frustration with the AT representatives and their lack of monthly updates to the board on local traffic matters. While I am sure that individual AT folks are good and hard working, its their bosses culture of secrecy and don’t tell anyone anything and the systems they use that make AT the number one Auckland Council CCO in our sights..

      They say, a fish rots from the head, and AT sure is a pretty rotten fish right now.

      Seems to me that AT currently openly regards the public, and the elected local boards in particular as a bigger nuisance than the “motorists” that AT so obviously feels it is that they represent.
      As is shown by their current inactions to complaints.

      The subliminal signals that AT sends to everyone by these sorts of things is that “cars are king.”

      Now if we all lived in Radiator Springs and we really were sentient car beings and not people, I might agree with that approach.
      But even in Radiator Springs they still enforced their local bylaws – unlike AT – which doesn’t seem to bother.

      Maybe the new guy at the top can change things, time will tell on that one, but I fear that the old “culture” from the amalgamation of the previous councils into AT has already contaminated AT’s public service mandate too deeply to allow that sort of culture change to occur anytime soon.

      1. “Maybe AT is using Apple Maps on their GPS Navigation System?
        Google Maps knows where it is so perhaps time for an update to Google Maps on your Apple iPhones guys?”

        No problem finding this location on Apple Maps.

    2. 22 Puriri St is a metal blasting workshop in an industrial estate. The neighbouring buildings are a tyre services workshop and a panel and paint shop. Maybe the Council thought it wasn’t worth prosecuting the technical crime of parking on a grass verge in an industrial estate? I don’t see the benefit in doing so, or even why it should be a crime. The original article is heavy on “think of the chiiiiiildren”, mentioning them seven times. But the risk to children from parking on a grass verge outside a tyre shop is pretty miniscule.

      The Victoria Market situation shown involved vehicles blocking pedestrians, which is wrong. But parking on the grass verge beside the skatepark, or under an ugly concrete flyover… who cares?

      This is one of the vehicle crimes posts that see Transportblog commenters turn in to authoritarian law and order extremists of a type that would shock a rural Texan NRA member.

      1. Obi,
        Some points.
        1. The council reply didn’t say that they found the address and AT then chose not to apply the bylaws.
        It said “can’t find the address”, so thats a different thing altogether from your comments.

        2. If we are to have a selective application of by-laws – who decides when and where to apply them and what bylaws?
        The rules on parking on the grass verge and the footpath are pretty clear (and not just an Auckland specific peculiar law either) – the rule is that you can’t park or drive on the footpath or grass verges except when using an appropriate vehicle crossing.for the purposes of entering or exiting a property. – how hard is that to know or enforce?

        What if your next door neighbour decides to flout the current fire ban by burning a big pile of rubbish (or having his stereo thumping away all night)
        – do you think thats ok too or would you expect a different response?
        Regardless – why is parking on the footpath ok and lighting fires during a fire ban different anti-social behaviour?

        Something to do with well parking is not going to hurt anyone is it – its a “victimless crime”?
        Well your neighbour could argue the same with regards his fire or loud music wouldn’t he?

        3. Would the AT (or your) response have been different if the complaint was that the cars were parked over the time limit?

        I see the same attitude that you show here (which is obviously that “business comes first”) from many of the car yards in NewMarket.
        One in particular which is bad at this is the Mini Garage in Newmarket (corner of Broadway and Mahuru Sts).
        – they feel that they have a god given right to park their Mini vehicles right on the footpath in front of their “shop”.
        In the aid of using the vehicle on the footpath as (a) a large billboard and (b) a way to avoid parking tickets by not parking on the streets.

        Both of these are in direct contravention to by-laws. Yet they do it – maybe not when AT officials are around – but they do it.

        Sadly, it seems fro mthese actions that many of the new car sales yards around this part of town feel that they “own” not only their premises, but the footpath(s) and also the on-street parking areas outside their business. So that they can then park their cars whereever they feel like to act as giant advertising hoardings.
        Because “we are a business, so we can do what we like”

        1. The police and courts in countries like Singapore operate on the basis of a strict interpretation of the law. They prosecute pretty much all crime and punish it severely. That keeps the population law abiding, and also afraid. I don’t want to live in Singapore. I prefer the NZ model where the police, courts, and other enforcement bodies tend to look the other way when there is a technical breach of the law but no real harm is being done. Generally the police are respected here, and not that is not respect earned by fear. People realise that if they behave in a generally reasonable way then they won’t be treated as a criminal on the basis of some technicality. If you prosecute every minor and consequence-free breach of the law then the government and the police risk losing the support of the people, and that is a bad thing.

          There is also the resource allocation issue. We just don’t employ enough law enforcement officers to prosecute every victimless crime. I’d much rather council officers and police were doing something useful with their time, such as improving the buses or catching burglars, rather than moving cars off grass verges outside muffler shops. It’s the same with marijuana… No one cares about a bit of weed these days, so although it is technically a crime, I’d prefer that the police chased down some real criminals rather than hassling some hippies. In my experience, that is the police view as well and they’ll only enforce the law if you’re growing acres of it in the forest or trying to smuggle it in to a prison.

          If my neighbours were being too noisy and I lost my cool and rang the council, then I hope they’d take a common sense approach. Party time every night is unreasonable. But I hope they wouldn’t get their noise meters out for a birthday or the Rugby World Cup finals. If my neighbours started a fire then I hope that enforcement officers would also take a common sense approach, although the difference in this case is that fires can kill people while no one ever died from listening to Guns n Roses a couple of minutes after midnight.

        2. “People realise that if they behave in a generally reasonable way then they won’t be treated as a criminal on the basis of some technicality.”

          “If you prosecute every minor and consequence-free breach of the law”

          So you think the matters adressed in this blog post are consequence free???

        3. “So you think the matters adressed in this blog post are consequence free???”

          The cars blocking the footpath at Victoria Park Markets deserve a ticket. But the others are pretty much consequence free. I don’t buy in to the argument that cars parked on grass verges are a danger to children playing on the grass behind them, and no one has ventured any better arguments as to why the situations illustrated should be a law enforcement priority.

        4. Regardless of the safety / sight line issues if too many vehicles use grass verges for parking the grass will die, generally degrading the space, and leading to dust issues in hot weather. In winter it is very easy for grass to be cut up into deep rutted mud,

      2. Beyond safety, there’s another practical reason for banning parking on verges and footpaths – they are not engineered to carry vehicles, and we all pay to fix them if they’re parked on often enough.

        Consistently enforcing laws reduces breaches, even though there are some situations where there may be less risk of harm.

        More public communication is needed about shared spaces which are still pretty new to NZ drivers. It’s not enough to do a story or two and then assume everyone understands how they are meant to work.

        Would be interesting to see the traffic planning submitted for the skatepark upgrade and how people were meant to get there.

        1. not quite right. generally, particularly in Auckland, when footpaths are being designed there is an assessmwent as to what kind of traffic will end up using them. if it is just a footpath in the middle of a domain then they will be designed differently from a footpath adjacent to a road that could and probably will end up having vehicles on are designed to allow for that, so that they dont continually require repair.

          unfortunately one of the biggest causes (generally) to footpaths and the like around Auckland are your trees and their roots…. and you all know how much people would be up in arms if we did anything about them.

        2. I see that Auckland Council now replaces asphalt and red chip footpaths with concrete – not as attractive but no doubt better value to ratepayers for the reasons you mention. Case in point is Lower Domain Drive footpath, which I frequently use, that has recently had the cracked, broken and frankly dangerous asphalt replaced with a wide concrete path, including diversions around big trees. My own driveway (hotmix) now has a few humps and bumps due to my lovely pin oaks’ roots. I can live with that but will eventually need to relay it.

          But Sacha’s point is valid too, particularly re verges. Also, my narrow street has a footpath of pavers which over time was damaged (sank) due to vehicles parking partially on them. Being a private road my neighbours and I had to repave it at significant expense, so added yellow lines as well. No problem since.

        3. @jonno1, yes unfortunately pavers are a major pain and frequently end up damaged due to vehicles. one of the issues is that there is no specific design criteria to ensure that paver based roads meet the requirements, generally deferring to overseas practice. the second issue is that to do it properly requires a pretty grunty construction so there ends up being debate as to the “risk” of vehicles getting access and wether or not you just block them getting on by the use of bollards etc. unfortunately sub-divions whereby private roads will remain generally rely on the assumption or proviso that they wont be subject to heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses thereby ending up being underdesigned.

          there are alternative techniques such as imprinted or painted concrete that can give the effect of pavers but without the risk that are beginning to become more popular.

          also the actual look of footpaths such as asphalt vs red chip vs concrete vs exposed aggrgate is currently being rationalised by AT so that there is a consistent approach across the region. another problem is that there are varying district plan requiements that govern the aesthetics and appearance of things but dont necessarily tie these to the underlying construction.

          pavers a peronal bug bear of mine….

        4. Jonno1 – concrete is NOT “rootproof”. Sure, it may initially take longer for roots to crack or lift concrete slabs, but after that, the damage can actually be more severe, because it’s harder to patch locally. Also, concrete is between 2 and 10 (!) times more expensive to build a footpath with. I agree that often concrete is nicer and better, but it’s not a simple matter, especially with so many footpaths still in bad condition that we need to think whether we always chose the expensive approach. Not a black and white decision.

        5. Good points Max, I’m a bit out of touch with relative costings, and I suppose product life needs to be factored in. As I recall hotmix is pretty costly, cold plant mix much less so.

          Another issue with unreinforced concrete is cracking which rapidly becomes very unsightly. Also it’s almost inevitable that a utility company will come along 5 minutes after a footpath has been replaced. Sarawia St of level-crossing fame is a recent example of this.

    3. That address does not come up on the councils GIS viewer, which is why they can not find it.
      http://maps.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/AucklandCouncilViewer/
      Nor does it show on Google maps (it does on street view), it shows as number 12 on google maps.

      Not overly helpful for you but they reference most things off there GIS system, which is why I normally use google maps to get the “council address” rather then the “known address”.

  12. The land transport Act 1998 and local council bylaws are crystal clear – no parking, standing, or driving is permitted EVER on a footpaths and grass verges.

    1. come on Patrick, another fist slamming, not quite true comment. if you read the ACC by-law (allowed for by the act) it doesnt say that specific types of parking aren’t permitted EVER…..

      what the bylaw says is that the council has the ability to put in place certain restrictions, which may include some of the restrictions that you have mentioned. However, for them to do that they need to by means of a resolution approved by the Traffic Committee, otherwise it doesnt mean diddly. they also need to install the correct traffic signs and road markings.

      In Auckland, if there is no approved resolution and the appropriate signs/markings (in line with the resolution) arent in place then they cant be enforced by Auckland Transport.

      The police do have some powers to have vehicles shifted if they are causing an obstruction (i think) but the examples that are shown are not really causing anybody too much inconvenience.

  13. No it is not about bollards, the city of Groningen NL manages on-street parking and shared space very well, with no bollards, please corrects me if you can find some.

    If Police and local authorities do not have resources to manage on-street parking may be contractors would be more effective.
    This is from a study of 14 metropolitan in Asia, called “Parking Policy in Asian Cities”. By Paul A Barter
    “Effective enforcement is crucial to on-street parking management. Most of the success stories involve shifting this responsibility away from the police to local authorities or to contractors. (p73)”

    1. I agree, I don’t want to see a proliferation of bollards around the city. I also don’t think the Shared Spaces are to blame and in fact they are some of the best things to happen to Auckland. People park on clearly sign-posted areas, and it’s the fact that they know they can get away with it that they continue. Outsource it to a private company and ring fence the money for red-light cameras or whatever if they seriously think people will jump up and down about revenue gathering. Personally I see tickets as simply an opt-in tax and the money should be used in the general coffers, but definitely think there needs to be a big expansion in the traffic officers.

      1. is it clearly sign posted that you cant park on the hard standing outside the rob roy? as far as the Netherlands and Page 73 of some asian city policy, who gives a rats @rse…. having parking nazis running around will do much worse than the odd parked car.

        my thoughts are why didnt the ‘urban designer’ propose something better than having a big open swath of boring flat concrete (expensive colouring) hard standing as it is ouside rob roy? it looks cr@p, will no doubt have thousands of dollars of ‘amenity’ lighting so it isnt unsafe under the flyover and having a few cars parked there dont do any harm, in fact they should have probably formalised some there.

        1. qwerty:I spy a Godwin. You lose.
          You should have a look at the Strand in Parnell sometime. As a runner I usually have to run on the road as the pavement is totally blocked by parked cars.
          So far we have had commenters on here saying it is ok to park on grass verges, on the grass in parks, on shared spaces, on pedestrian plazas – where else? The footpath on Queen Street is so wide that a few cars wouldn’t make much difference.

        2. “I spy a Godwin. You lose.” havent got a clue what thats supposed to mean.

          i dont think anybody is saying that it is OK for people to park all of over the footpaths, verges, parks or shared spaces. i also dont think that this is such a major issue other than to people who walk around with their DSLR trying to find issue with anything as your man from Eye on Auckland does.

          there are always people who are going to do it and not all of the time do they do it on purpose or know any better. i do believe there is an element in some of these urban designs that creates confusion which results in people taking a chance. there also needs to be a balance to enforcement that is cost effective and common sense. my personal opinion is that they should spend more time enforcing cyclists who blatantly flout the road rules as they cause more trouble around the place than the odd car parked in the wrong place.

          the only one of the photos that i think causes a pain the @ss is the cars parking on the footpath at the victoria markets. i think the reason here is the design. if that had come in front of me i would have asked them to change it. not only have they made the vehicle crossing a different surface, they have installed tactile crossings. they have managed to blur who has priority which would make people think that vehicles are hae priority.

        3. ah, Godwins Law. thanks HarryMC, thats me well and truly put in my place.

          a useless meme used in lieu of a proper response that, statistically, could relate to any topic.

        4. I don’t know what is more worrying? – the fact that these people are parking illegally where and when they like (and in the process inconveniencing people as they go about their daily business), or the fact that some people see nothing wrong with this. A society has a set of rules for EVERYONE to abide by to make things work properly for everyone.

          What we have here are some people who believe they are above the law and can park anywhere as they feel. Then we have the people who believe this is ok to do, and is only the concern of a few DSLR carrying people walking around looking for issues with anything. Perhaps those who don’t see anything wrong with it are the very same people breaking the law?

          I personally walk an average of 20 kms’ through the city a week and I also happen to carry my DSLR around with me. I am a street photographer and believe me, what EYEONAUCKLAND has posted is the tip of the iceberg. The fact is it is OUT OF CONTROL. People don’t give a damn about signs, and pretending that a flat paved area is suddenly a parking lot when clearly it is a public square, displays a clear selfish immature attitude which is really just the thin edge of the wedge. At what point do drivers have to start respecting pedestrian spaces? When there is a parking warden nearby? When someone gets run over and injured? I have gigabytes of illegally parked cars and drivers that cannot be described by any other term other than selfish ‘idiots’.

          Some Auckland drivers seem to become possessed the moment they sit behind the wheel, and somehow become more special than everyone else, and as such they are entitled to park somewhere where you and I are not entitled to park. Even better if there is a ramp and a physical space large enough to accommodate the vehicle – that is automatically deemed a parking space regardless. As usual it is the minority spoiling it for the majority.

          The fact is: Some Auckland drivers are immature selfish children who need to be treated as such – they cannot be left to their own devices as they have already proven they are not mature enough to behave like self respecting members of the automotive community and are certainly not worthy of being entrusted with obeying the road rules- as such
          – they need to be policed in the way of punitive measures such as fines or tow-aways, and/or
          – Place physical barriers in the form of bollards, seats, trees, etc in the way to make it obvious that that area is not a parking lot.

          This illegal parking may seem like a ‘small’ deal, but it is really is of major concern. It is the underbelly of the next wave of illegal acts that just take society down the slippery slope to anarchy. What is wrong with finding legal parking? What is wrong with having to pay for parking? What is wrong with offering your neighbour some respect?

        5. The truth remains the truth. There is no other way around it. Paint it how you like. Imagine it to be something it is not. It remains what it is – unacceptable. Remove all conflict and confusion from these poor dazed and confused drivers – fine them, tow them, block them.

        6. “I have gigabytes of illegally parked cars”

          Then it is clear that this is an obsession for you. Most people don’t obsess about trivial “crimes” (if in fact they are crimes… Qwerty suggests that most of the situations illustrated in this post are perfectly legal), because they have better things to do with their time. Chill out and enjoy the city, and use your camera to photograph things that interest and amuse you or make you go “wow” when you see them.

        7. How is it trivial that cars park illegally next to the Wynyard Quarter playground creating a hazard to children as they manoeuvre their vehicle in and out of the illegal self-created parking spot forcing pedestrians to squeeze past their bumper?

          How is it trivial that I must now walk in the street when a courier van decides that the pavement is parking in High Street?

          How is it trivial that I must endure diesel smoke been pumped into my breakfast when a truck decides that the pavement outside Sheinkin’s in Lorne Street is a parking spot?

          How is it trivial that the Dockline tram must come to a halt every time someone thinks it is ok to double park in Jellicoe street when clearly there are tram lines on the road?

          How is it trivial that I must walk in the the street when walking past the skate park because the cars are now parked on the pavement? Cars are now on the pavements and people are now in the streets?!! Clearly not what intended.

          If these things are not affecting you I dare say either you don’t get around the city much? or perhaps it is ok because it is something you like to do as well?

          I thoroughly enjoy the city hence my prolific walks and the reason I probably come across so much of this selfish behaviour. I have numerous WOW images of Auckland that are hanging on walls all over Auckland and in overseas magazines . The fact that it takes me seconds to snap an illegal driver is nothing out of my life – but it does convey a message…. one that is obviously much needed.

        8. “How is it trivial that the Dockline tram must come to a halt every time someone thinks it is ok to double park in Jellicoe street when clearly there are tram lines on the road?”

          Probably the car has more people in it than the tram. Joking aside, cities require a bit of give and take. If a courier or a delivery driver parks on a section of pavement while they make a delivery then that’s just part of city life. You may recall a few months ago when a journalist used her newspaper in Sydney (or Melbourne?) to name and shame the driver of a delivery truck who parked in a bike lane while he unloaded a bed. She believed it was outrageous that she had to cycle around him. The commenters on the online article were firmly on the side of the truck driver. Delivering beds is a necessity of life, and it really doesn’t hurt a cyclist to divert around a truck once in a while. Although I suspect you’re of the opinion that every cyclist or pedestrian who has to make a minor detour is in imminent danger of violent death, or will suffocate themselves and pass out on the footpath.

          “How is it trivial that I must walk in the the street when walking past the skate park because the cars are now parked on the pavement?”

          None of your skate park photos show anything like this. They all show cars parked on the grass verge, not impeding pedestrian flow. In a couple of photos a vehicle intrudes over the pavement by a few inches, but I’d hope that even the most zealous parking-enforcement photographer wouldn’t lose their cool over that.

          I’m mostly a pedestrian, because I walk to work. When driving I’ll happily park on grass verges outside muffler shops, and outside a friend’s house on the North Shore where the verge is enormous and it is safer than leaving my vehicle on the narrow road. If I’ve bought something heavy like a giant plasma TV then I’ll happily park on the pavement outside my CBD apartment while I unload it. Pedestrians can still get past, even if they might have to wait for a couple of seconds if pedestrians arrive from both directions at the same time. Most people understand that unloading a giant TV or a fridge is hard work, and have the decency to wait for a couple of seconds if it makes life easier for the person doing the unloading.

        9. Realistically one can squeeze past or wait a few seconds when something is been unloaded as you describe – there has never been any question raised about that. None of the courier vehicles I have come across were unloading beds or tvs – or even large boxes for that matter – it was simply just easier for them to park on the pavement.

          I don’t think anyone is concerned about parking on grass verges in the suburbs as there is always space to walk past and if you need to walk in the street in a suburb there is going to be way less traffic than in the city centre. I don’t think I have ever come across a removals van that parks ‘illegally’ – they seemed to be the best behaved and obey the rules way more than the courier vans do. I have not posted any of my skate park photos – you are obviously referring to the ones on EYEONAUCKLAND.

          The issues here are not about loading or unloading and this point was never made anywhere – These cars that are parked (‘illegally’ for some and ‘legally ‘ for others) are not unloading or loading any type of goods, they are simply parking their cars in the CBD – in places where they should not be parking them simply because it is easier and quicker for them to do so, while they ignore what an inconvenience it is for others.

        10. “I have not posted any of my skate park photos – you are obviously referring to the ones on EYEONAUCKLAND.”

          Are you saving that you’re not Eye On Auckland? Because his name or handle is apparently Sydney, and you have incorporated “syd” in to your posting name. You’ve also said that you have gigabytes worth of photos of illegally parked cars in Auckland, which also seems to be one of Eye’s themes. There is a set of photos from the Owen Chapman Surf Livesaving event tagged to craigsyd here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigsyd/sets/72157632531675485/. There are some photos of the Owen Chapman Surf Lifesaving event on Eye On Auckland here: http://eyeonauckland.com/2013/01/surf-carnival/. Some of the photos are very similar, like these two: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigsyd/8349210622/in/set-72157632531675485 and http://eyeonauckland.com/2013/01/surf-carnival/owen-chapman-8/. If you’re two different people then that is a whole lot of whacky coincidences.

        11. Is it so hard to believe we are two different people? Craigsyd on flickr are my images and the others belong to EYEONAUCKLAND who is Sydney. Nothing wacky about it!

        12. Qwerty – hypocrisy upon hypocrisy. You criticise someone else about being obsessed with “minor” infractions and yet just above you seem to be very angry about the very minor infractions committed by the tiny percentage of cyclists who manage to struggle through the cesspit of giant roads that is most of Auckland.

          Obviously as a typical auto-dependent Aucklander you are only concerned with those “crimes” that you would never commit because, I assume, you dont cycle…ever.

  14. This article in todays online Herald talks about parking enforcement, has some comments around it as follows:
    link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10861626

    “…Auckland Transport parking enforcement manager Rick Bidgood said staff were sensitive about negative attitudes and last month amended their operations accordingly. “Just before Christmas we actually reduced our enforcement so we weren’t seen as evil.”

    Parking wardens go to around 3500 requests for assistance each month. These call-outs often include vehicles preventing people getting in or out of properties.
    The busiest blockage points were:

    • Erson Ave, in Royal Oak

    • Hepburn St, Freemans Bay

    • Esplanade Rd, Mt Eden

    • Rose Rd, Grey Lynn

    • Hewson St, Ellerslie

    • Franklin Rd, Freemans Bay

    Figures for the past two years indicate you’re least likely to get ticketed in January, but you’re probably least likely to be in town then too. The big ticket months are May and August. The average value of infringement notices last year was $30.32.”

    So, the wardens are out and about, but maybe they were told to ease off during the holiday period?
    Or is maybe the case that as the staff take annual leave at this time they don’t have enough parking wardens to write so many tickets?

    Other comment on revenue earned from this:
    “… an average of nearly 35 (tickets) an hour and netting on average $773,203 a month”

  15. “i do believe there is an element in some of these urban designs that creates confusion”

    That’s a deliberate design feature in shared spaces, yes, reduced if anything in Auckland’s implementations compared with overseas examples (for reasons including the lead designer being a fan of symmetry).

    Safety impacts of unplanned off-road parking are likely to involve vehicles getting on and off the roadway as well as the situations where they conflict with pedestrians and cyclist. Industry experts can hopefully provide references. I doubt you will find many to support a view that cyclists are a prime threat.

    1. not quite, i have had many an argument with people regards deliberately creating confusion to make people more observant etc but it just ends up relating back to anecdotal references to netherlands.

      there should be absolutely no confusion and people should understand what the rules are especially when they are in a shared space (other than letting people know they are in one).

      i never said that cyclists were a prime threat and i am not looking for support, i do however think that they cause more problems than a few parked cars.

  16. “my thoughts are why didnt the ‘urban designer’ propose something better than having a big open swath of boring flat concrete”

    Beats me too. It’s not an appealing space.

    1. Because that seems to be the only option for shared spaces. The Rob Roy Plaza and the one outside the library are just begging to be parked on. I mean- they look like carparks- so why shouldn’t we?

  17. Not sure why there is confusion, there are lots and lots of signs and road markings showing where you can store private property, Owners/drivers of motor vehicle should be treaded like reasonable and sensible people who understand the rules.

  18. I am very surprised at how many have their heads in the sand. I would like to see if some of you will be as bravado if and when somebody is injured (heaven forbid killed) on our pavements / public plazas. I challenge those of you who think that it is an over reaction to a “minor” problem to go and live in South Africa for a year and then come back and tell me that we don’t have anything to worry about. I watched a Country degenerate into an even more lawless society and I don’t want the same for NZ. It is very easy for things to spin out of control if you let things slide and become complacent.

    Eye on Auckland covers many issues and many of the topics are photographic, that is why my camera goes where I go. I don’t go out looking for illegal parking, I just stumble upon it by walking from Point A to Point B. I also refuse to sit idly in my armchair and share my views via comments on various blogs. I get out there and do something about it. Prevention is better than cure.

    The shared spaces can be amazing when it works but as they operate now I dislike them with a passion and would hate to see more rolled out across the city. If they can’t control the few that we have how are they going to control matters when there are more shared spaces to patrol ? Solutions need to be fast tracked and the people in power need to be proactive. Excuses are easy, attending to the issue at hand is the hard part. Get it done Auckland Council.

    P.S. Part 2 will be online tomorrow morning.

    1. That’s a seriously strange viewpoint. The issues in South Africa didn’t arise because a few cars were parked on a footpath in Soweto in the 1950’s. There is a total disconnect between the examples you are presenting and shrieking tone about people being injured and killed, which you provide no evidence at all to support.

      1. “That’s a seriously strange viewpoint.”

        It’s a seriously strange post and comment thread. But I thought it was well known that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island because he stopped in a spot reserved for taxis while he ran in to a dairy to pick up a carton of milk. That attention to law and order is what made South Africa a universally admired country where people didn’t need to lock their doors.

    2. There is a serious amount of passive condoning of this ‘illegal’ parking going on. The extent to which you wish to defend it is merely a reflection of the extent to which you want to perpetrate the same “crime” yourself and to be free of any consequences. It creates hazards and is a selfish, disrespectful, anti-social behaviour that cannot be justified by any means. To try and justify it by saying it does not hurt anyone or relegating it to trivial status does not in anyway change what it really is. It is a sign you don’t give a damn about your fellow citizen and an insistence that your’ needs’ in that moment are more important than any rules that may exist and that you are quite happy to violate fellow citizens right of way just so you can save a few dollars and possibly a few minutes of time.

  19. I’ve got the answer – pedestrians leave the paths en-masse and take to the roads. Cars can have the footpaths. How do you explain using a raised table as a vehicle entrance to what is obviously a pedestrian plaza? “I didn’t realise”. What a crock of s..t. There are plenty of car parking buildings around. Use them. It’s bad enough being a pedestrian around Auckland as it is without having to dodge cars on the paths as well. Great post Sydney. I’ve started hammering on windows of drivers who fail to give way on driveways. It sure gives them a shock but they genuinely believe they have right of way and who is discouraging them? The Police? Not likely.

  20. Contributing my personal illegal parking sore spot: Cars that park in the bus stop on the Wanganui Ave corner of Jervois Road.. The bus stop is located in front of the shops (a fish and chip shop in particular) and I am *always* seeing cars illegally parked in the bus stop on my evening commute home.

  21. LMAO “out if control”,”chaos”,”heading for disaster”,”slippery slope to anarchy”
    are you guys seriously using those terms?! hyperbole much? I agree that AT should be handing out more fines but you do yourself a complete disservice by using such terms. the collapse of the world bee population is a disaster. loss of arable land to salinisation is a disaster. increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a disaster. a minuscule number of victimless crimes is not a disaster nor out of control.

    pedestrian jaywalkers, cyclists that run red lights, drivers that fail to give way to pedestrians and litterbugs should all be fined as well with the same extreme prejudice. these problems will always be around but are not out of control and will never lead to anarchy. they are simply part of life in a city.

    1. You have o=bviously never lived in a city where it has got out of control and it can easily happen if no enforcement occurs as motorists believe themselves to the most entitled people in a city. See the reference below showing the parking situation in Bucharest, Romania. I lived there for 3 years and believe me it completely destroys a city when illegal parking gets out of control. If you dont believe that motorists in Auckland would do the same then you are being naive. I am actually shocked after coming back to NZ at how similar NZ is to the situation in Bucharest with motorists. Romania is slowly destroying their urban environments with roads and cars. NZ is way ahead of them.

      Although at least Bucharest has a decent PT network to take the excess. Of course, as with Auckland, a lot of people think they are too good for PT (including my former colleagues in Romania) and wont use it. This is despite people having to leave home at 6.30am and sit in their office for 1 hour until everyone else arrives on PT.

  22. Ari, everything is relative of course. It may have been poor choice of wording but I know Sydney of Eye On Auckland is very passionate when it comes to this city and doesn’t want to see it turned into a Bucharest kind of situation. I too find it disheartening that so many seem to condone selfish behaviour and are happy (or indifferent?) to reinforce the sense of entitlement that some Auckland drivers seem to have.

  23. Off-topic.
    I posted a link in the comments of a random street in Bucharest, Romania. If anyone has a bit of time to kill and wants to have a look at a city with a true car storage and parking
    problem, I suggest start here http://goo.gl/maps/0nmrv and have a good look around. It certainly is all relative 🙂

    1. You are bang on in concentrating on Bucharest. As you will see above, I lived there for 3 years and it is the best example I have ever seen of how cars can kill a city and make it a horrible place for anyone not in a car. Even my wife who is from Bucharest (and almost all Romanians) dont like Bucharest as a city. Even by Eastern European cities it is terrible. I have visited a lot of cities in Eastern Europe and never seen anything like it in Europe (let alone the packs of wild dogs).

      It is very vibrant and interesting but as a place to get around above surface (the underground actually functions very well) it is horrible. The life expectancy in Bucharest is significantly lower than the Romanian average. If the transport situation in Auckland continues as it has for the last 50 years, I wouldnt be surprised if Auckland will be in the same boat one day in the not too distant future.

      1. Bear in mind just over 20 years ago Bucharest was a far worse place for people without a car, which was nearly everyone. Bucharest suffered more from totalitarianism and an extremely brutal approach to urban planning than any other city in Europe, with the possible exception of Tirana on the totalitarian front. To even equate a largely lawless (i.e. little official interest in enforcing traffic/parking laws if any) situation in a country where people are delighted to have cars (having been denied them for 40 years) to anything in NZ is ludicrous.

        1. Actually 20 years ago almost everyone travelled by public transport and my father in law tells me the system worked quite well. Probably 99% of people travelled to work by PT or bicycle. As there were few cars, cycling was quite popular and very safe.

          Things have got a lot worse in that the city has been flooded with people who couldnt move there before without permission. Also the number of cars has increased exponentially with almost no infrastructure. There are also no parking buildings, though one has just been built under Piata Universitate.

          No argument about the totalitarian regime, it was maybe the worst in the Eastern bloc. People didnt even have food unless they had relations in the countryside.

  24. no I haven’t lived in any city bigger than Auckland. but I don’t see what that has got to do with this. we live in a completely different country with different rules on resource management. we have minimum parking requirements for a reason. as I pointed out the very same argument blaming these people above could be used to blame jaywalking and litterbugs for the collapse of western civilisation. there are plenty of people flouting the law but overall most people obey the law.

    Orange I liked that link. Bucharest looks like a great example of why we should keep minimums instead of imposing maximums which could lead to something like that. *waits to be bashed with opposing arguments*

    1. What it has to do with this is that you can be lax on these things in an overgrown country town like Auckland has been up to now. If the rules arent enforced in a proper city (which I hope Auckland will some day become) it causes chaos and quickly degrades the city to the point where it is unliveable. I would argue a lot of Auckland is there already.

      Bucharest has minimum parking requirements. The problems are to do with a culture of generally not following rules, which is a national past time in Romania. It will quickly become the same here and I can see it slowly happening. Auckland is slowly choking to death on cars and a failure to enforce parking rules will be the coup de grace.

      If you have never lived in a city bigger than Auckland then you cant appreciate the magnitude of the issue.

  25. The litterbugs and jaywalkers argument is flawed. Just because littering and proper jaywalking – not people merely crossing the street – or any other law-breaking rule-flouting behaviour is not properly enforced or discouraged shouldn’t mean that we become complacent in other areas like illegal parking – which is this post’s topic. It’s that complacency, the condoning of misbehaviour and the apparent widely shared indifference to any consequences that is going to make things gradually worse. It may not make things Bucharest-bad overnight, but any step in that direction is a step in the wrong direction.

  26. Inconsiderate parking happens everywhere, its life, there is always going to be the odd person who does it. I dont think parking boo boos is the start of a spiral slide into destruction of modern life as we know it. I also dont think that the “….culture of not following rules….” as you note in Romania is prevalent in New Zealand. If this is the case in Romania then they have bigger problems than a few parked cars.

    1. Agreed that there’s bigger issues, but this post correctly concrentrates on a specific one worth working against. It doesn’t need to be Romania. Parts of France are as bad in my experience, for example.

      It is the government’s duty to put limits on inconsiderate behaviour. Because short of vandalising the cars of people that mis-park (which I don’t condone, but often very much would like to), what ability does the average Joe have to fix this issue? It’s something where we need government to step up to the plate as the arbitrator of city life.

  27. Auckland Parking is shit. But by design, or by accident?

    This morning in Brown St Ponsonby FIVE cars all pulled up in a convoy, double parked and went into a house.
    Brown St is not wide either…

    Luckily a parking Warden was right there- ticketing cars outside Ponsonby Central. I pointed out the five cars parked in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD and she said “Nah, I’ have to check all these cars. They’ll be gone soon”.

    Result- one or two $12 over staying tickets rather than 5 $95 (or whatever) parking in the middle of the road tickets.

    Pathetic. But the double parkers learnt their lesson- It’s fine, don’t worry about it!

  28. Know what you mean. I’m quite interested in illegal parking as design feedback. Presume someone in the profession has actual evidence about safety issues where they exist.

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