Ticket row prompts vow

A GERMAN tourist has vowed to ‘‘avoid’’ Queenstown and says he will be telling others to do the same after unknowingly being fined for ‘‘inconsiderate parking’’ in the resort’s CBD.

Jan Thiel assumed his $60 infringement notice had been issued because he ultimately ended up on the wrong side of the road, facing the wrong way and blocking access to an underground parking building on Camp St for less than 60 seconds at 8.36am on March 5.

It was, however, for parking in a bus stop — something he took issue with given he did not believe he had ‘‘parked’’ there.

Mr Thiel, who has paid the fine, said the infringement notice was sent to the rental company and he only became aware he had been fined when he returned the vehicle last Sunday.

In a lengthy ‘‘public letter’’, sent to the Otago Daily Times, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult and Cr Alexa Forbes, Mr Thiel detailed the ‘‘mistake’’ he made on a ‘‘pseudo roundabout’’ in the CBD while stressed about finding somewhere to park for about five hours while he and his wife took part in an ‘‘outdoor activity’’.

Mr Thiel said he felt he had been arbitrarily punished for something which carried a ‘‘vague definition’’ and would have appreciated if the officer who issued the ticket had pulled him over to issue a caution or offer to help an ‘‘obviously lost tourist’’.

‘‘This ticket sadly feels so much more like personal punishment for something I do not understand and therefore can’t learn anything from.

‘‘I will definitely avoid Queenstown on our next visits to [New Zealand] and further will advise friends and family to avoid Queenstown when travelling with a camper in [New Zealand] just to avoid any issues like this in the future.’’

In response, the Queenstown Lakes District Council explained why he had been ticketed and sent photos of his rental camper van in the bus stop, taken by a parking warden.

Those types of infringement notices were always issued in the mail because of ‘‘aggressive’’ behaviour towards parking wardens from other motorists.

Council communications manager Naell CrosbyRoe told the ODT the bus stop was ‘‘clearly marked and clearly signed’’ indicating parking there was not permitted.

In response, Mr Thiel questioned the definition of ‘‘parking’’ given he only stopped in the bus stop for ‘‘some seconds’’.

‘‘In the moment I exited the vehicle I saw the ‘Bus Stop’ sign and realised . . . parking is not allowed there.

‘‘But as I never intended to park there anyway and no bus was around, I didn’t see an issue with stopping there for some seconds.

‘‘We did not stop there for more than a minute in total and the engine was never turned off . . . which would declare this as stopping at most and not even remote to parking.

‘‘From the situation neither did I park, nor did I do this inconsiderately.’’

Mr Thiel suggested the council might want to update its signs at bus stops from ‘‘Parking Forbidden’’ to ‘‘Stopping Forbidden’’ which he said would be clearer and ‘‘unambiguous’’ and refrain from using the term ‘‘inconsiderate parking’’, or add more information to infringement notices.

He also suggested the council erect signs at the town entrance regarding the ‘‘delicate’’ parking situation and where to park camper vans to avoid ‘‘useless’’ roaming in the CBD.

At present, there are signs at the entrances to Queenstown directing camper vans to dedicated parking spaces at Boundary St, as well as within the CBD advising ‘‘large’’ camper vans cannot be parked in the town centre.