When parking’s a berming issue
An Auckland bylaw loophole is creating substantial safety risks, says AT
Auckland Transport has acknowledged it relies on the average motorist’s ignorance of berm parking laws to discourage the practice — it is illegal on only 33 streets across the city.
In August 2018, AT advocated for a bylaw change to the Land Transport Rule 2004, because it does “not issue infringement notices for parking on the grass verge unless signage has been installed”.
Auckland Councillor Desley Simpson is pushing to make it a reality in 2019, requesting a status update from the NZ Transport Agency over the AT bylaw change submission last year.
With about 9000 streets in Auckland, equating to 7500km of roadway, signs banning “off roadway” parking appear on only 0.36 per cent of roads.
Installing signs costs $50,000 per street “not including the cost of passing the prohibitions”, hence the administrative costs for selecting and banning a given street.
But between August 2016 and August 2018, AT received 840 safety complaints from the public about berm parking.
“Drivers in Auckland are becoming aware that AT do not issue infringement notices for parking on the grass verge unless signage has been installed,” the 2018 AT submission said. “As more drivers become aware, the problems increase in areas without signage and AT is unable to take action.”
The report adds that: “Parking on the grass verge is causing substantial safety risks in Auckland.”
As it stands, AT will go through the three to four month process to erect signs on a street only after prioritising grass berm complaints.
The criteria for a street having signs implemented includes risk of damage to “critical” utility services” such as power, water and fibre cables located underground, close surface of the grass berm.
Street visibility in high-risk areas near schools or parks is also a consideration for the signs.
An AT spokesperson said it was “essentially” correct that AT has no power to ticket, tow or request to move any vehicle parked on a berm that does not have a street sign up prohibiting it.
“Generally, we do not receive a large number of complaints about parking on berms, suggesting it is not a significant problem in many parts of the region,” the AT spokesperson said.
“Legislative change is required for us to enforce without signage. Though we advocate for these to the changes to legislation, we are recording each customer inquiry.
“Often these problems can be resolved by speaking to neighbours, or when someone moves.
“Installing berm signage across every street in the region would be a significant investment, would require significant ongoing maintenance, and could create signage clutter which we are trying to reduce.”
Meadowbank resident Murray Hutchinson was frustrated to be told by AT that it did not have the power to tell tradies who repeatedly parked on the street berm outside his Temple St home to move.
Hutchinson said a neighbour of his had been renovating his home for the duration of 2018.
The contractors were parking on the berm and leaving the turf “munted”.
“One of the bigger operators parked a big ute on the grass verge, and I thought I’ll just ring council and ask them to send an AT guy down to ask them to park on the road,” Hutchinson said. “Council sent me a reference number for the complaint, but nothing happened. I went back to them, and said the guys haven’t moved their trucks etc. and there’s still space on the road — ping them.
“The guy rang me and said AT aren’t enforcing the rule because there’s no sign saying no parking. Their personnel will not even request the vehicles be moved. I thought that was a weird situation.”
Ministry of Transport mobility and safety manager Brent Johnston said a number of councils have raised transport bylaw issues with them, including changes to Section 6.2 of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004.
Section 6.2 dictates the rules around councils being able to fine motorists parked on a berm.
Auckland Councillor Desley Simpson said she had already asked AT for a progress update and would follow up with NZTA also.
“I’d rather be the city of sails than the city of signs. We need to work with NZTA and amend the legislation accordingly,” Simpson said.
Under a new bylaw in 2017, the Christchurch City Council declared it an offence punishable by a fine to park on a grass or paved berm where there is a kerb.