More parking in Paradise
Someone must have thought the way to help drivers get closer to Paradise was by painting over yellow lines.
Auckland Transport (AT) was notified last Friday that the broken yellow lines outside the popular Indian takeaway on Sandringham Rd had been painted over in black.
The restaurant owners denied any knowledge of who was behind the act.
AT spokesman Mark Hannan said: “A contractor went out on Friday to repaint them but couldn’t because of parked cars, so they are planning an early-morning visit this week to fix the problem.”
When the Herald visited the takeaway yesterday, there were four cars parked on the street — which was meant to have a broken yellow line — and their drivers were waiting for orders inside the popular curry house.
Paul Patel, a regular customer, said he was pleased to be able to park just outside the takeaway.
“I used to have to park across the street and it’s really inconvenient when you’ve got to carry tubs of curries,” Patel said.
Mark Lloyd, who posted a comment on the Sandringham Community Facebook page, said parking there now made the pedestrian crossing “even more hazardous than normal”.
Irfan Kabir, the takeaway’s restaurant manager, said he first noticed the lines being covered up by black paint about two weeks ago.
“I thought it was the council doing it, so I didn’t question it too much,” Kabir said.
AT’s website states the penalty for parking on a broken yellow line is a $60 fine.
Paradise owner Rafi Mohammed said he welcomed AT’s action to have the broken yellow lines reinstated.
“I don’t like cars parking in front of the shop, because it blocks our frontage and affects our business.”