Lane Cove Council Rangers in the News

The Sunday Telegraph has slammed Lane Cove Rangers for booking people who are infringing a “little-known” rule about not parking within 3 m of double lines.  It is a little-known rule.  I wonder how many of us remember it from our driving test?  Not many is probably the answer.

ITC did not remember this rule until an incident about 13 years ago.  ITC was dropping Miss ITC at daycare. Finding a park seemed a near impossible task until I saw one space near a side road entrance (not far from the intersection with the main road).  I parked the car and made sure I was the appropriate distance from the corner. Then as if by some sort of great power a Lane Cove Ranger appeared from thin air and told me quite emphatically that I was breaking the law.  He told me  I should know the double line road rules better.  Since then, I have kept my eyes peeled for those double lines and try to park 3 m away from them.

The double lines are placed in a certain position for a reason.  It is usually because the road is very narrow and if cars parked on both sides it would be impossible for buses or emergency service vehicles to pass.  If you think about it, parking near double white lines means any vehicle passing your parked car has to cross over the double lines; which in itself is illegal.

If this is a major problem in Lane Cove and the Lane Cove Council see a rise in traffic infringements relating to this issue, or any particular issue, it would be a great idea for the council to embark on an education campaign rather than an enforcement campaign.

According to the Sunday Telegraph,

Lane Cove Council raised $1.4 million in parking fines in 2015-16, the highest amount since at least 2012, according to the NSW Government. The council also dished out a record 9279 fines in that financial year, 871 more fines than the previous year.

The parking infringement statistics are presented to the councilors in the Lane Cove Council Meeting Monthly Agenda Attachments. They are the last item on the Agenda in a document called Council Snapshot.   Below is the latest parking infringement information provided in the April Lane Cove Council Meeting Agenda papers. Unfortunately, this graph does not include the 2011/2012 parking infringement stats.

The 2011/2012 Council Snapshot includes a breakdown between Council Free Car Parking and On Street Parking Infringement.  You will note there was a focus on school zone enforcement. From the graph above it appears to be a consistent enforcement/safety issue (see the spike in January around the time students return to school). It’s a shame that the  Lane Cove Council no longer splits the infringement statistics into the two categories.

Parking Infringement numbers increased when the sensor pods were installed in Lane Cove Council’s outdoor car parks. Lane Cove Council Rangers are now alerted on a mobile device when a car has exceeded the time limit for the particular car park.   This system is more accurate than the old chalking the tyres routine and therefore has resulted in increased fines.

What is your experience?  Have you been fined for an on-street parking infringement?  What little-known rule have you come unstuck on? Have you ever queried the accuracy of the pods?

Do you have a local issue you would like help with? ITC is here to help, just email us at [email protected]

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