Floriade parking fines: Enough is enough

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

Just to clarify a point to a lot of self righteous comments i have read.. i was not parked on nature strips or parklands or parked on a road with travelling traffic, more so being a dedicated parking bay area signposted as “Floriade Parking”…As a tourist to your town i am not familiar with transport systems you have as i was unable to find your light rail or train stops and because i dont have a bicycle with me in my car…furthermore some suggested i walk the half hour . i would if i could carrying a serious ankle injury prevents me … most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors,,, this hasnt happened … The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege of the event with one security guard not even knowing that the Event i was standing outside was called Floriade ……

Um, I went to Adelaide, parked my car at the motel and didn’t drive it at all in Adelaide. I caught the bus. I had never used the Adelaide transport system before, but it was easy to ask about the bus and use it. I am wondering if you use the bus in Adelaide, because buses appear to confuse you. I am also wondering with a “serious ankle injury” how you managed to drive.

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege ……

There are extra signs out this week advising of parking areas. I mentioned there wasn’t much signage out last week and got flamed by the resident trolls here on riot act.

There are few noticeable trolls on riot act for 8 hours a day trawling. Try to ignore them.

I seen a few parking officials/attendants sitting on upturned buckets chatting. I was there a short while and parked on the grass near the new shipping container building. The parking attendants looked but no one said a thing.

So it’s obvious that the parking attendants are not doing their job properly.

Welcome to Canberra… where it is impossible to get a park and Canberrans (or the weirdo minority or Canberrans on this blog) actually bother to argue for parking fines. Well done.

Parking tickets annoy people. The ACT is turning into a police state when it comes to parking and the only people who would be defending this revenue raising harassment of the public would be weirdo Labor/Green staffers and looney elitists.

Mysteryman said :

Good to see that having no idea about someone didn’t stop you from judging them or their circumstances. The lefty is indeed strong within you.

I’m a little confused with your thinking.

Using traditional definitions, surely “The Left” would be accepting of and supportive of unrestricted parking and relaxation of the draconian facist parking regime and “The Right” would be demanding paramilitary style enforcement with the offenders rounded up and shipped off-shore, coupled with with razor wire perimeter built around all non-authorised parking areas including 24hr surveillance with armed drone capability to stop the unwashed rabble parking their hippy love vans willy-nilly.

You seem to think the opposite?

There’s even free buses so we don’t have to deal with the indignity of parking illegally. Horrendous!

rubaiyat said :

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

Just to clarify a point to a lot of self righteous comments i have read.. i was not parked on nature strips or parklands or parked on a road with travelling traffic, more so being a dedicated parking bay area signposted as “Floriade Parking”…As a tourist to your town i am not familiar with transport systems you have as i was unable to find your light rail or train stops and because i dont have a bicycle with me in my car…furthermore some suggested i walk the half hour . i would if i could carrying a serious ankle injury prevents me … most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors,,, this hasnt happened … The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege of the event with one security guard not even knowing that the Event i was standing outside was called Floriade ……

We don’t know your particular circumstances.

I’ve been to Adelaide for the Fringe and Womad and I did not see, nor expect unlimited parking right next to the events just for me. It is physically impossible for a start.

Honestly I find it hard to follow what you are saying, other than you are upset.

Good to see that having no idea about someone didn’t stop you from judging them or their circumstances. The lefty is indeed strong within you.

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

Just to clarify a point to a lot of self righteous comments i have read.. i was not parked on nature strips or parklands or parked on a road with travelling traffic, more so being a dedicated parking bay area signposted as “Floriade Parking”…As a tourist to your town i am not familiar with transport systems you have as i was unable to find your light rail or train stops and because i dont have a bicycle with me in my car…furthermore some suggested i walk the half hour . i would if i could carrying a serious ankle injury prevents me … most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors,,, this hasnt happened … The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege of the event with one security guard not even knowing that the Event i was standing outside was called Floriade ……

It got removed from my previous post, so I will try again.

If you say you have trouble walking how did you get around Floriade?

What is different about us working out Adelaide’s transport system and event facilities, and you working out ours?

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

.. most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors……

You mean like Adelaide Oval (No parking areas), Adealide Festival Centre (very limited spaces), Adelaide Showgrounds (around 1000 spaces only, hardly very many) or WOMADelaide Festival (no parking areas)?

Yep…we could learn a lot from Adelaide.

ADELAIDEVISITOR said :

Just to clarify a point to a lot of self righteous comments i have read.. i was not parked on nature strips or parklands or parked on a road with travelling traffic, more so being a dedicated parking bay area signposted as “Floriade Parking”…As a tourist to your town i am not familiar with transport systems you have as i was unable to find your light rail or train stops and because i dont have a bicycle with me in my car…furthermore some suggested i walk the half hour . i would if i could carrying a serious ankle injury prevents me … most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors,,, this hasnt happened … The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege of the event with one security guard not even knowing that the Event i was standing outside was called Floriade ……

We don’t know your particular circumstances.

I’ve been to Adelaide for the Fringe and Womad and I did not see, nor expect unlimited parking right next to the events just for me. It is physically impossible for a start.

Honestly I find it hard to follow what you are saying, other than you are upset.

Just like in Adelaide the large hideous concrete car parking is built next to the shopping malls, not the green parkland where oddly enough a floral display is held.

No 1 rule of visiting a natural tourist attraction, is don’t ruin the attraction.

No 2 rule is I have a car, everyone says rule 1 does not apply to me.

The ACT government did all the right things. It signposted the area, it provided parking opposite the western entry and built a Floriade only set of pedestrian traffic lights. It provided a free shuttle bus service for people to get to Floriade.

Just to clarify a point to a lot of self righteous comments i have read.. i was not parked on nature strips or parklands or parked on a road with travelling traffic, more so being a dedicated parking bay area signposted as “Floriade Parking”…As a tourist to your town i am not familiar with transport systems you have as i was unable to find your light rail or train stops and because i dont have a bicycle with me in my car…furthermore some suggested i walk the half hour . i would if i could carrying a serious ankle injury prevents me … most modern cities provide a substantial parking facility and give amnesty to parking during a event that is to promote tourist dollar and encourage further visitors,,, this hasnt happened … The traffic / security people Outside the event directing traffic from SMP ??were clueless advising me where i could park , given i had just driven from ADELAIDE ,first time visitor .. these people obviously lacked training in customer service and had zip knowlege of the event with one security guard not even knowing that the Event i was standing outside was called Floriade ……

i as a visitor to canberra , decided rather than spend my tourist dollars at brizvegas, would bring my family and stay in canberra … day one Friday at 10 am was a trip to Floriade with my family and as i am recovering from ankle surgery … dropped my family at gate whilst i found a carpark… ( no parking at floriade which i saw as strange) but drove round all the immediate carparks whicjh were few and of course full with streams of public playing dodgem cars … i found a park with cars parked along a curb, no yellow lines on road and certainly no “no standing signs ” displayed ..the only signs were some metre high tellow signs saying no parking fines apply which were starpicketted in the middle of the adjacent green lawn area thus interpreted as no parking on the grass… the victorian visitor also parking remarked to me yes that is means no paon lawned area… payed $ 12 dollars for a parking ticket at the machine which i duly displayed in my vehicle … returning to vehicle 2 hrs later i find a parking ticket for $ 120 on my windscreen …”.FAILURE TO PARK WITHIN DESIGNATED PARK BAYS “…. gobsmacked as the signs aerected stated floriade parking ….. a blatant revenue grab and you wonder why people talk about canberra being a step back in time …. nice town but sorry i will let others know how your goverment revenue raisers gouge from locals and tourists alike … after then seeing countless parking tickets applied to many of the 40 odd cars parked in a legal manner … i will be contesting this and me thinks maybe gold coast might have been a friendlier option

CyberJam said :

Looks like the majority of bloggers to this post are the typical self-righteous conceited a-holes that the rest of the country loves to hate. “Let’s all go to the flower show on our magical unicorns so we don’t burn any carbon or trample the nature strips”. W_NK_RS!… Fortunately the well adjusted locals disagree with the SS tactics of parking inspectors and see the reality in rampant profiteering and extortion through the guise of legal parking fines. We’re creating an undesirable social environment under the banner of ‘ecological responsibility’. It’s needs to stop and it needs to stop now!

Chill dude. That’s quite a lather you’ve whipped yourself into there.

R U OK?

CyberJam said :

Looks like the majority of bloggers to this post are the typical self-righteous conceited a-holes that the rest of the country loves to hate. “Let’s all go to the flower show on our magical unicorns so we don’t burn any carbon or trample the nature strips”. W_NK_RS!… Fortunately the well adjusted locals disagree with the SS tactics of parking inspectors and see the reality in rampant profiteering and extortion through the guise of legal parking fines. We’re creating an undesirable social environment under the banner of ‘ecological responsibility’. It’s needs to stop and it needs to stop now!

You bet it needs to stop and needs to stop now!

Get your f-ing magic polluting unicorn off my ratepayer lawn a-hole!

The sad thing is that all the fines that these a-holes (seems that is an acceptable term here) are paying is probably not enough to fix the all the damage they do, simply because they are too lazy, or it is beneath them to make their way to Floriade like all the considerate law abiding people have done.

CyberJam said :

Looks like the majority of bloggers to this post are the typical self-righteous conceited a-holes that the rest of the country loves to hate. “Let’s all go to the flower show on our magical unicorns so we don’t burn any carbon or trample the nature strips”. W_NK_RS!… Fortunately the well adjusted locals disagree with the SS tactics of parking inspectors and see the reality in rampant profiteering and extortion through the guise of legal parking fines. We’re creating an undesirable social environment under the banner of ‘ecological responsibility’. It’s needs to stop and it needs to stop now!

Yes, there has always been an arrogant minority who don’t think laws are for them.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

watto23 said :

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

Nobody wants to fine the hell out of people to make them obey a rule. There probably is revenue raising side to this also, but when it comes down to it, ones own laziness is no excuse to park wherever you want. Its not like Civic is going to suddenly have more car parks built, which is why I’m eagerly awaiting for alternative public transport plans from other political parties before 2016. I suspect for all the negativity surrounding the light rail, no one actually has many good ideas.

Heres an idea. How about a ferry service across the lake during floriade? Of course it wouldn’t be free, so people would complain about it also I guess.

Make all the buses free, all the time. It wouldn’t cost us much more really, and the reduction in car traffic would have a measurable benefit.

It is quite clear that it isn’t the (negligible) cost that is stopping people using the buses.

They have free Shuttle buses for Floriade and people are still selfishly parking everywhere they feel like it and complaining when they get fined.

It is the appalling mindset of today’s selfish and self centred public.

…and all those who support their bad behaviour.

They are just doing their job, but it takes a certain kind of person to be a parking inspector.

Looks like the majority of bloggers to this post are the typical self-righteous conceited a-holes that the rest of the country loves to hate. “Let’s all go to the flower show on our magical unicorns so we don’t burn any carbon or trample the nature strips”. W_NK_RS!… Fortunately the well adjusted locals disagree with the SS tactics of parking inspectors and see the reality in rampant profiteering and extortion through the guise of legal parking fines. We’re creating an undesirable social environment under the banner of ‘ecological responsibility’. It’s needs to stop and it needs to stop now!

watto23 said :

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

Nobody wants to fine the hell out of people to make them obey a rule. There probably is revenue raising side to this also, but when it comes down to it, ones own laziness is no excuse to park wherever you want. Its not like Civic is going to suddenly have more car parks built, which is why I’m eagerly awaiting for alternative public transport plans from other political parties before 2016. I suspect for all the negativity surrounding the light rail, no one actually has many good ideas.

Heres an idea. How about a ferry service across the lake during floriade? Of course it wouldn’t be free, so people would complain about it also I guess.

Make all the buses free, all the time. It wouldn’t cost us much more really, and the reduction in car traffic would have a measurable benefit.

gooterz said :

OpenYourMind said :

Also, the argument about not stinging tourists is pretty cr#p too. Rock up to a big city and go to a popular public event and you are more likely than not to pay for parking. I’ve recently been to an event in Melbourne (paid for parking), Brisbane (paid for parking), Sydney (paid for parking). Given the urban concentration of Australia, the probability is most tourists will be from a big city and not be overly surprised that parking costs money and you can’t park wherever the Hell you feel like it at the detriment of the safety of others, blocking emergency vehicles and potholing/compacting nature strips. Suck it up illegal parkers and stop being a#@%holes and screwing it for everyone else.

Canberra “Big City”…..

Canberra is more like 5 close country towns rather than a city. let alone a big city.

At any of the many events all over Canberra these days huge numbers of people turn out and unfortunately park thousands of cars all over the green spaces, killing them and turning them into dust bowls.

Think of this in terms that will impact on your real concerns. The dust will make your car dirty and mounting the curbs could damage your suspension!

Oh the horror, oh the humanity! What are we doing to our cars?

rubaiyat said :

Interesting that over 60% of RiotACT readers believe that the law does not apply to you if you have a car and urgently need to plant it on any green open space you fancy.

I hope that is not a true cross section of Canberrans, but sadly suspect that it is.

I think Riot Act participants are pretty special. They took our jobs. You’ll take my rifle from my cold, dead hand. Obeying laws is for the weak.

Interesting that over 60% of RiotACT readers believe that the law does not apply to you if you have a car and urgently need to plant it on any green open space you fancy.

I hope that is not a true cross section of Canberrans, but sadly suspect that it is.

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you’re illiterate – you can still either read parking signs and/or the motor traffic handbook. as a licensed driver you have many obligations and a key one is to obey all traffic signs… i have no sympathy for those drivers who think themselves above the road rules. grow up.

that said, i like finland’s [?] idea where the quantum of the fine is commensurate with your income. i’d have no issue with that. then all these wxnkers driving or oarking how and where they like then get $10,000 speeding fines, or $5,000 parking fines, and then may pause to consider their behaviour. all for that…

OpenYourMind said :

Also, the argument about not stinging tourists is pretty cr#p too. Rock up to a big city and go to a popular public event and you are more likely than not to pay for parking. I’ve recently been to an event in Melbourne (paid for parking), Brisbane (paid for parking), Sydney (paid for parking). Given the urban concentration of Australia, the probability is most tourists will be from a big city and not be overly surprised that parking costs money and you can’t park wherever the Hell you feel like it at the detriment of the safety of others, blocking emergency vehicles and potholing/compacting nature strips. Suck it up illegal parkers and stop being a#@%holes and screwing it for everyone else.

Canberra “Big City”…..

Canberra is more like 5 close country towns rather than a city. let alone a big city.

Also, the argument about not stinging tourists is pretty cr#p too. Rock up to a big city and go to a popular public event and you are more likely than not to pay for parking. I’ve recently been to an event in Melbourne (paid for parking), Brisbane (paid for parking), Sydney (paid for parking). Given the urban concentration of Australia, the probability is most tourists will be from a big city and not be overly surprised that parking costs money and you can’t park wherever the Hell you feel like it at the detriment of the safety of others, blocking emergency vehicles and potholing/compacting nature strips. Suck it up illegal parkers and stop being a#@%holes and screwing it for everyone else.

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

Nobody wants to fine the hell out of people to make them obey a rule. There probably is revenue raising side to this also, but when it comes down to it, ones own laziness is no excuse to park wherever you want. Its not like Civic is going to suddenly have more car parks built, which is why I’m eagerly awaiting for alternative public transport plans from other political parties before 2016. I suspect for all the negativity surrounding the light rail, no one actually has many good ideas.

Heres an idea. How about a ferry service across the lake during floriade? Of course it wouldn’t be free, so people would complain about it also I guess.

Pity no one goes around giving parking tickets to the tradies who park wherever they like.

Could make good revenue if they were giving out parking tickets around building sites. Apparently they are exempt.

Sometimes difficult to drive safely past a building site and as for walking past forget it. ACT gov doesn’t control these areas.

gooterz said :

I guess the real truth is that people who drive can just pop down to bunnings and plant their own damn flowers.
You can’t do that on a bike, walking, gold plated tram or bus.

Or they could go elsewhere away from Canberra.

But that all requires effort.

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

How can fines harm the poor, ask Joe Hockey they don’t drive.

But in all seriousness how on earth did you come to that conclusion? Fines are easily avoidable by parking legally, as many have pointed out there is no shortage of parking and no shortage of signs advising people where to find said abundant parking. Yet these people CHOOSE to park illegally then whine and whine. So where is the correlation between parking fines and the poor?

And major events are the one time when the rules should be enforced because the risk to the people that decide to park illegally (especially those that park in the median strip of Parkes Way) is the highest.

switch said :

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

We obviously need more scantily clad babes walking around putting money in parking meters like they used to do on the Gold Coast to keep the tourists happy.

Male babes I hope!

gooterz said :

I guess the real truth is that people who drive can just pop down to bunnings and plant their own damn flowers.
You can’t do that on a bike, walking, gold plated tram or bus.

Or they could go elsewhere away from Canberra.

I have brought plants home on my bicycle. What’s you point?

Steven Bailey said :

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

We obviously need more scantily clad babes walking around putting money in parking meters like they used to do on the Gold Coast to keep the tourists happy.

Thanks for all of the discussion guys. Obviously this is quite a contentious issue.

My position is that Canberra authorities should lighten up a little bit when it comes to all fines, and as a principle it bothers me that flat fines harm the poor the most. But I’ve taken comments to the contrary on board and I’ve certainly learnt a lot in the last week.

Cheers

Oh and Arithmophobia, Gnosiphobia and Coulrophobia. Maths, Knowledge and Clowns.

Essentially the real fear is Metathesiophobia, the fear of change.

With all those phobias you should be eligible for a disability parking sticker.

I guess the real truth is that people who drive can just pop down to bunnings and plant their own damn flowers.
You can’t do that on a bike, walking, gold plated tram or bus.

Or they could go elsewhere away from Canberra.

Arthur said :

I’m with everyone else on this. Catching a bus or riding is the way to go. I mean how lazy is this lady driving all the way from Sydney when she could’ve just caught the Murray’s bus down, found a place that rented bikes, and rode to Floriade from Civic. Talk about lazy!

I think the main point of this is that you don’t even have to resort to public transport or bike riding to get there. There are plenty of parking spots in the vicinity of the event.

What there isn’t, is a lot of parking spots right next to the event, which seems to be the complaint. It seems that people think that if there isn’t a park within 100m of the event, then they are within their rights to park wherever they want.

I’m betting that they’re the same people who trawl through shopping centre car parks for 10 minutes to find a “close” park simply because they don’t want to walk for 1 minute from the far side of the car park

I’m with everyone else on this. Catching a bus or riding is the way to go. I mean how lazy is this lady driving all the way from Sydney when she could’ve just caught the Murray’s bus down, found a place that rented bikes, and rode to Floriade from Civic. Talk about lazy!

Maya123 said :

havafati said :

I can’t believe some of the comments on here. Smugness exudes from the self righteous out there. Seriously it’s just parking and I’ll park my 4wd where I like.

That’s why there are lots of fences and gates now, stopping responsible people, because some have the attitude, “I’ll park my 4wd where I like”, and to get there, they must also drive it. If not for that attitude, we would not have so much restriction.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-14/authorities-to-investigate-4-wheel-drive-damage-to-tarkine-abor/5091506

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1138x854q90/547/ofyx.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.southport.gb.com/showthread.php?t%3D52974752%26page%3D1&h=853&w=1138&tbnid=ZYdO_3h4k9_B3M:&docid=vTErTNMz4yenaM&ei=Flv6VZCeLsO7mwXV-LnQBQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CCUQMygIMAhqFQoTCJCBoIO2_ccCFcPdpgodVXwOWg

So by me parking any where I like in a city instantly equates to chewing up the bush?

chewy14 said :

Pragmatix said :

I can’t believe all of the leftie conformists who have commented on this story. Steven’s right. Obviously most Canberrans find the influx of parking inspectors annoying and unnecessary.

I can’t believe that anyone thinks taking responsibility for the consequences of your own decisions or obeying the law are “Leftie” traits.

Some people will call anything they disagree with, left/right traits, depending on THEIR leaning. Not very sophisticated thinking.

Pragmatix said :

I can’t believe all of the leftie conformists who have commented on this story. Steven’s right. Obviously most Canberrans find the influx of parking inspectors annoying and unnecessary.

I can’t believe that anyone thinks taking responsibility for the consequences of your own decisions or obeying the law are “Leftie” traits.

havafati said :

I can’t believe some of the comments on here. Smugness exudes from the self righteous out there. Seriously it’s just parking and I’ll park my 4wd where I like.

That’s why there are lots of fences and gates now, stopping responsible people, because some have the attitude, “I’ll park my 4wd where I like”, and to get there, they must also drive it. If not for that attitude, we would not have so much restriction.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-14/authorities-to-investigate-4-wheel-drive-damage-to-tarkine-abor/5091506

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1138x854q90/547/ofyx.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.southport.gb.com/showthread.php?t%3D52974752%26page%3D1&h=853&w=1138&tbnid=ZYdO_3h4k9_B3M:&docid=vTErTNMz4yenaM&ei=Flv6VZCeLsO7mwXV-LnQBQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CCUQMygIMAhqFQoTCJCBoIO2_ccCFcPdpgodVXwOWg

Canberra is like New York now, didn’t you here Barr on the radio – don’t worry that the population in Canberra has gone down, thats irrelevant.
He needs more cash to fund his green social engineering programs, so tough luck if you get caught parking on grass, as Canberra is high density and people live everywhere along those strips and complain they can’t get out of their places!
Ha catch a bus, ACTION/Barr admits they don’t have enough buses, God knows what a white elephant light rail will turn into, but Barr and Ratenburg get their green legacy, thats what is important

I can’t believe some of the comments on here. Smugness exudes from the self righteous out there. Seriously it’s just parking and I’ll park my 4wd where I like.

Nah, there’s a difference.

Nobody is complaining about people parking on the grass, get fined, accept the fine and move on with life, people are complaining about whingers who park illegally, getting a fine and then whinge about it.

I can’t believe all of the leftie conformists who have commented on this story. Steven’s right. Obviously most Canberrans find the influx of parking inspectors annoying and unnecessary.

I am sure the same people who complain about being fined for breaking the parking laws are also complaining about the use of speed cameras. As it is not compulsory to break the law, I am happy to see my rates go down as they collect more fines.

What a bunch of wowsers. What’s the matter with parking on the grass? Get over it I say. Park where you like so long as you’re not harming anyone. We don’t need a city crawling with parking inspectors.

Good to see that most people in the poll at the end of the story have some common sense.

HenryBG said :

Nilrem said :

Soil compaction. Another reason why parking on nature strips should be prevented. But why doesn’t the Government fine people for doing it?

They do.

I was once disturbed by knocking at my front door: my neighbour was there, waving a parking ticket in my face, and screaming and yelling at me.

I eventually figured it out: she had parked on the nature strip outside my house (her mum had told her to stop killing the grass in front of their place), ACT Parking had for some reason come past and booked her, and she had decided that I had rung them up to request that she be booked.

I was unable to muster any sympathy for the silly woman.

Typical that she sees it as your fault not her own.

Nilrem said :

Soil compaction. Another reason why parking on nature strips should be prevented. But why doesn’t the Government fine people for doing it?

They do.

I was once disturbed by knocking at my front door: my neighbour was there, waving a parking ticket in my face, and screaming and yelling at me.

I eventually figured it out: she had parked on the nature strip outside my house (her mum had told her to stop killing the grass in front of their place), ACT Parking had for some reason come past and booked her, and she had decided that I had rung them up to request that she be booked.

I was unable to muster any sympathy for the silly woman.

bigred said :

Even a taxi fare would be cheaper than a fine. All I can say is pay the fine and help slow down the tripling of my rates.

taxi fare both ways is less than the fine in many parts of Canberra.

It’s hard to have much sympathy for illegal parkers. Perhaps some better sign posting to remind people might be order, though.

Even a taxi fare would be cheaper than a fine. All I can say is pay the fine and help slow down the tripling of my rates.

Great to see someone taking the law seriously. Park illegally get a fine and suck it up.
Plenty of buses to get to floriade and plenty of places to park.
How wonderful it is to get a free bus to floriade and back into the city. All part of the fun. It’s a great event and no entry fee. Why all the whinging.

HenryBG said :

rubaiyat said :

Probably all those people who demand the right to park anywhere, anytime they want to don’t mean to come across as obsessively self centred and selfish.

Or maybe they are so obsessively self centred and selfish they just don’t notice. Anymore than they notice how they are progressively ruining our grass and green spaces, till it is nearly all gone.

They are *special*, so they shouldn’t be expected to abide by the laws that govern the rest of us.

They are ruining more than just the grass: soil compaction also results in dead trees.

And as others have noted, people who are too stupid to park legally, often also appear stupid enough to park in such a way as to cause danger to drivers and pedestrians.

Soil compaction. Another reason why parking on nature strips should be prevented. But why doesn’t the Government fine people for doing it?

good to see people in favor for such fines.
park illegally, you will be charged. As simple as
that

rubaiyat said :

Probably all those people who demand the right to park anywhere, anytime they want to don’t mean to come across as obsessively self centred and selfish.

Or maybe they are so obsessively self centred and selfish they just don’t notice. Anymore than they notice how they are progressively ruining our grass and green spaces, till it is nearly all gone.

“nearly all gone”?! Give me a break. We all know you’ve got issues with Canberra, Canberrans, cars, divers, and a long list of other things, but don’t you ever tire of the hyperbole? We do.

rubaiyat said :

Probably all those people who demand the right to park anywhere, anytime they want to don’t mean to come across as obsessively self centred and selfish.

Or maybe they are so obsessively self centred and selfish they just don’t notice. Anymore than they notice how they are progressively ruining our grass and green spaces, till it is nearly all gone.

They are *special*, so they shouldn’t be expected to abide by the laws that govern the rest of us.

They are ruining more than just the grass: soil compaction also results in dead trees.

And as others have noted, people who are too stupid to park legally, often also appear stupid enough to park in such a way as to cause danger to drivers and pedestrians.

Probably all those people who demand the right to park anywhere, anytime they want to don’t mean to come across as obsessively self centred and selfish.

Or maybe they are so obsessively self centred and selfish they just don’t notice. Anymore than they notice how they are progressively ruining our grass and green spaces, till it is nearly all gone.

Musterkrux said :

Yup, no pity.

We parked across the bridge (for free, with multiple other empty car spaces within spitting distance), walked across and enjoyed our lunch from atop the Shipping-Crate market and watched as people got parking tickets.

Sorry guys, bad luck.

The Cabanos toasted sandwich was amazing, by the way.

Yep, that’s where I park too. I’ve never been “forced” to park illegally – what a ridiculous copout. Either find a legal park, take public transport, or get a lift.

bobster said :

Parking a car illegally is a right of passage! Its a way to say “Up yours Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury! I’m parking on your grass!”

Pragmatix said :

Who would have thought that people care so strongly about fining people who don’t park in the perfectly prescribed manner. What a bunch of lemmings.

If you want to park your car illegally in protest, or as a message to the ACT Government, or in defiance of the nanny state or whatever, then go right ahead. All the power to you!

Just don’t come crying and whinging and screaming about how it’s so unfair that the big mean Government gave you a fine, and that you should be treated differently from everyone else because of X,Y or Z.

The reality is hundreds of thousands of people attend Floriade every year, and manage to do so without parking illegally.

If you choose to park illegally, then don’t be surprised if you get a fine.

gazket said :

Visitors to Canberra probably struggle to find a park at Floriade .

The government should be placing electronic signs around pointing out extra parking areas for Floriade.
There should be a signs on Northbourne getting tourists to park in the city area’s and walk across the foot bridge to Floriade.

They also should put out signs saying parking inspectors are on duty please obey parking signs.

The governemt complains Civic is dead we need more shoppers/diners and here’s a prime chance . They let it slip on bye.

.

They do have big electronic signs on Northbourne telling you to park in the city for floriade parking. And there are signs saying if you park here you’ll get booked. Apart from that another great comment. You probably could have squeezed in something about the tent embassy though for some bonus points.

JC said :

…Oh and Steven yes they do deliberately target events because that is when people choose to park where they shouldn’t and where the illegal parking causes issues for everyone else, hence why it is restricted in the first place. Take that nice green space on Parkes way. It is an 80km/h zone so for cars to ‘park’ they need to slow down in the traffic, veer off. Then they need to walk across the road to get to Floriade or what ever. Then when they are finished need to pull out into traffic that again is going 80km/h….

That’s it – there are some very good reasons why TAMS would never approve construction of a carpark entry/exit in such locations.

gazket said :

…They also should put out signs saying parking inspectors are on duty please obey parking signs….

What?! Do you mean like all of these “outdoor driving school” signs reminding everyone to obey the road rules which I thought we were supposed to know and obey anyway? Signs like “do not queue across intersection”, “don’t drink and drive”, “don’t tailgate”, “no parking on verge”, “obey speed limits”, etc. all of which of course make no real difference. The road rules handbook (which was supposedly required reading prior to applying for a learner’s permit) explained that if you don’t park in accordance with the parking signs, you may be fined by a parking inspector – I don’t see any need to make it any more clear than that.

bobster said :

What a lot of politically correct, goody two-shoes seem to have replied here. I’m glad they’re in the descendancy on the polling for this article. When I was going to ANU in 1970, we used to park our cars as barricades against racist rugby tours and the Vietnam War. We’d have pigs heads painted on the side of cars and then we’d park them in the middle of Commonwealth Ave or in front of the PM’s Lodge… it didn’t matter. Cars are not only used to transport people from point A to Point B. They say a lot about you and your causes. And where you park says even more! I feel for the poor little do-gooders wingeing and moaning about illegally parked cars. Most of them clearly haven’t left home yet and live in a world of orthopaedic sandals and virtual relationships. Parking a car illegally is a right of passage! Its a way to say “Up yours Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury! I’m parking on your grass!”

There are a lot more people now since the 1970 you mentioned; that’s the problem. As the population keeps expanding, so our easy go life is going to get curtailed even more and more and more, as we get more crowded. You can’t expect things to remain the same with more people; it’s not going to happen. I was around then, but fortunately I can still ride my bike and walk. I feel sorry for those of you who appear can no longer do this, but like as for my parents, you can get a disability sticker, use that and park closer.

Altranite said :

I agree. Obviously ensuring people don’t park in the middle of the road/in front of important exits for emergencies etc. is critical, but the current state of parking for major events (or not so major ones) is practically a joke. Whether its Manuka oval, Floriade, or some other event, there seems to always be a chronic undersupply of parking. And to those saying people should just walk further – I’m sure there are many people who physically can’t walk the distance OR don’t know about other parking spaces.

There is no shortage of legal parking near any of these events. What there is, is a shortage of FREE parking RIGHT NEXT TO the event, that people are too cheap and lazy to utilize. There is a heap of underground pay parking in Manuka, within easy distance of Manuka Oval, which almost never gets fully utilised because people would rather park further away but not pay for it. There is heaps of free parking near floriade that just requires you to walk over the bridge. If you can’t manage the walk over the bridge, how in the world do you expect to appreciate Floriade? The flowers don’t come to you, you have to spend hours walking around seeing them. What is another 10min of walking?

The excuse that you don’t know of other parking spaces is just laziness. If you are a local, you should know of them or at least have an idea about the general area of Canberra you are going. If you are travelling from out of town, do a little research and check. Maps are wonderful things and are all over the internet these days. Or do the anti-nanny-staters now want the government to hold people’s hands while they park their cars? Apparently personal responsibility is fine until you want park your car wherever the hell you want and everyone else be damned.

As has been noted before, there are also free shuttle busses from the city to right outside Floriade, which just requires you to utilise one of the thousands of carparks in civic. Though shock horror, you may need to pay to park your car. Horrible, I know….

Wow. What a bunch of killjoy, leftist, weirdos. Who would have thought that people care so strongly about fining people who don’t park in the perfectly prescribed manner. What a bunch of lemmings.

I agree. Obviously ensuring people don’t park in the middle of the road/in front of important exits for emergencies etc. is critical, but the current state of parking for major events (or not so major ones) is practically a joke. Whether its Manuka oval, Floriade, or some other event, there seems to always be a chronic undersupply of parking. And to those saying people should just walk further – I’m sure there are many people who physically can’t walk the distance OR don’t know about other parking spaces.
Barr and his cronnies do nothing to fix the problem because they need the money from fines – its even formally included in budget estimates. They fully expect people to get fined to the tune of >$10mil each year!

bobster said :

What a lot of politically correct, goody two-shoes seem to have replied here. I’m glad they’re in the descendancy on the polling for this article. When I was going to ANU in 1970, we used to park our cars as barricades against racist rugby tours and the Vietnam War. We’d have pigs heads painted on the side of cars and then we’d park them in the middle of Commonwealth Ave or in front of the PM’s Lodge… it didn’t matter. Cars are not only used to transport people from point A to Point B. They say a lot about you and your causes. And where you park says even more! I feel for the poor little do-gooders wingeing and moaning about illegally parked cars. Most of them clearly haven’t left home yet and live in a world of orthopaedic sandals and virtual relationships. Parking a car illegally is a right of passage! Its a way to say “Up yours Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury! I’m parking on your grass!”

Political correctness gone made.

Next they’ll be taking away our constitutional right to bare arms and let off semi automatic fire as celebration in shopping malls!

Just drive through Floriade. You can get all the happy snaps and selfies you want without ever leaving your 4WD. As long as you don’t stop, it won’t be parking.

Problem Solved!

People are just getting fat, lazy and refusing to walk a distance of more than 500m. Soon we’ll be seeing 30 year olds riding electric mobility scooters once reserved for the elderly.

No sympathy, park legally, walk a short distance and avoid a fine. If not, don’t attend.

What a lot of politically correct, goody two-shoes seem to have replied here. I’m glad they’re in the descendancy on the polling for this article. When I was going to ANU in 1970, we used to park our cars as barricades against racist rugby tours and the Vietnam War. We’d have pigs heads painted on the side of cars and then we’d park them in the middle of Commonwealth Ave or in front of the PM’s Lodge… it didn’t matter. Cars are not only used to transport people from point A to Point B. They say a lot about you and your causes. And where you park says even more! I feel for the poor little do-gooders wingeing and moaning about illegally parked cars. Most of them clearly haven’t left home yet and live in a world of orthopaedic sandals and virtual relationships. Parking a car illegally is a right of passage! Its a way to say “Up yours Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury! I’m parking on your grass!”

Park legally and walk 10 ft. Seriously.

She travelled two and a half hours by car and the suggestions are to take a bus or walk.

A second grader could comprehend that these people are tourists and that people like you and others are going to kill this town.

If you don’t like cars then Canberra isn’t the city for you

So it looks like we will never get Monday parking back

If you’re going to get a fine anyway, just park on the tulips.

“…..Canberrans are fed up with parking inspectors running around and dishing out parking fines with gay abandon.”

Not sure what you’re advocating here Steven. Should the parking laws be enforced or not? How would you instruct the parking inspectors to book people with less ‘gay abandon’ than they do?

Should Floriade and other events be a parking free-for-all? Perhaps the inspectors could book only every third offender? And any car that had found particularly creative parking spot could be rewarded with an orchid under the wiper as a fun and topical Floriade surprise.

One practical idea might be to put up a temporary sign on every piece of grass within a kilometre of Floriade, warning people that they WILL be booked.
Then there really would be no excuses.

Visitors to Canberra probably struggle to find a park at Floriade . The ACT is set out completely different to anywhere else in Australia. All the carparks around Barton city west are hidden from view from the Commonwealth ave.

When I first come to Canberra it was to find servo because they are all tucked away off the main roads.

The government should be placing electronic signs around pointing out extra parking areas for Floriade.
There should be a signs on Northbourne getting tourists to park in the city area’s and walk across the foot bridge to Floriade.

They also should put out signs saying parking inspectors are on duty please obey parking signs.

The governemt complains Civic is dead we need more shoppers/diners and here’s a prime chance . They let it slip on bye.

Just the name Canberra already leaves a bad taste in inter stater’s mouths and it’s hard enough to get them here in the first place. The ACT gov should be more welcoming to tourists instead of fining them.

How about the government allowing temporary parking on grassed areas or median strips for the duration of the event (any event) when room is at a premium? If, as someone said, this was “allowed” for the fun run and nobody died then why not for other events?

Can’t say I’ve ever had problems getting a legal park at any event in Canberra.

Hardly fair that people at the Tent Embassy park with impunity, while these visitors get slammed.

Bloody cyclists! Pay rego!

“What’s the problem with parking on the greenstrip at a cultural event? Really?”

I know someone who was involved in an accident on Parkes Way, because the car in front stopped suddenly in a roundabout, as the car driver in front thought that was a good place to stop, while they looked for somewhere to park.

Yup, no pity.

We parked across the bridge (for free, with multiple other empty car spaces within spitting distance), walked across and enjoyed our lunch from atop the Shipping-Crate market and watched as people got parking tickets.

Sorry guys, bad luck.

The Cabanos toasted sandwich was amazing, by the way.

Sucked in to the lazy individuals who think they can park anywhere they like. If you’re that stupid to realise that it’s illegal to park on nature strips in the middle of an 80kph road, you deserve more than a $100 odd parking ticket.

There is plenty of parking in the city and close by over the bridge, it’s an easy walk. There’s also a bus stop on Commonwealth Ave as an alternative. But like most idiots, they will try and get a park as close as humanly possible rather than parking a little bit further away.

Just because Floriade is on, doesn’t make it park wherever the hell you like. If we could apply that rationale all the time, I would just park my car up in the middle of Northbourne Ave everyday because it’s 100m away from work and it’s easy.

I’m sure visitors to this town also have parking restrictions in their home city. I don’t remember Sydney allowing a free for all parking at the Opera House forecourt for New Years.. At least we know know what idiots look like with the pic your provided.

“What’s the problem with parking on the greenstrip at a cultural event? Really?”

Hmmmm, how about:
– potentially huge safety issue. People park in ways that obscure traffic (often in higher speed zones such as Parkes Way), this is right at a time when there is a lot of foot traffic because of the public event.
– damage to the nature strips
– potentially blocking emergency vehicles
– being a selfish arse and thinking that the rules don’t apply to you.

What a funny little article. No sympathy for parking tickets. You do the crime you do the time – pretty simple.

Nilrem said :

rubaiyat said :

….but, but, but I’m different.

I have a CAR!!!

And I also have legs, but I think they’re just painted on.

LOL!

rubaiyat said :

….but, but, but I’m different.

I have a CAR!!!

And I also have legs, but I think they’re just painted on.

….but, but, but I’m different.

I have a CAR!!!

And to add, whatever happened to individuals taking responsibility for their own actions?

I’ve only got so much walking in me, I demand a park within 50m of the flowers that I’m going to spend the next few hours walking around.

An extra 10 minutes walking is simply out of the question.

The stupidity of some people knows no bounds.

No doubt these are the same good folks that drive over the limit past speed cameras, and are subsequently surprised and outraged when they get fined.

golden_youth said :

plenty of options to park around the city if you’re not lazy, and if you say you aren’t lazy, why not ride or walk to floriade like 100’s of other people and avoid the risk altogether.

if you park illegally you deserve a ticket.

And don’t get started on nature strip parking. Half of Canberra is a compacted dirt dustbowl because people won’t park legally and safely on the street.

Rollersk8r said :

I don’t understand why you don’t understand?

Firstly – they just extended pay parking into the night and on the weekend in Civic – brilliantly timed to coincide with Floriade.

What has the extension of pay parking in the city have to do with it? Has the requirement to pay for parking somehow reduced the number of parks available? Or is it that people refuse to factor in the cost of parking and attempt to avoid paying by parking illegally?

The two people fined clearly thought that getting a prime spot which they didn’t have to pay for was more important than parking legally. It is not hard to park in the city, pay $10 or so and walk across to Floriade. Not wanting to walk is a pathetic excuse considering it is an outdoor flower festival which already requires walking to appreciate anyway.

Lazy, poorly planned and cheap people who choose to park illegally at these events deserve their fines and are lucky they are not more.

golden_youth said :

plenty of options to park around the city if you’re not lazy, and if you say you aren’t lazy, why not ride or walk to floriade like 100’s of other people and avoid the risk altogether.

if you park illegally you deserve a ticket.

+1. Most of the illegal parking is a symptom of laziness, and selfishness.

plenty of options to park around the city if you’re not lazy, and if you say you aren’t lazy, why not ride or walk to floriade like 100’s of other people and avoid the risk altogether.

if you park illegally you deserve a ticket.

Walk, cycle, bus. There’s an idea!

Must drive, must drive, must drive…

Must park, must park, must park…

Rollersk8r said :

Dame Canberra said :

I don’t understand the fuss. Park illegally, get a fine.

It’s a massive public event right next to the CBD that’s held once a year – people shouldn’t be surprised that parking is difficult!

I don’t understand why you don’t understand?

Firstly – they just extended pay parking into the night and on the weekend in Civic – brilliantly timed to coincide with Floriade.

Secondly – the prime parking area for Floraide (Constitution Avenue) area is a mess. Can’t blame interstate visitors for wanting to park somewhere remotely near the event.

Thirdly – they are inconsistent with issuing fines. Thousands of cars were parked on Parkes Way the other weekend for the fun run. Common sense seemed to prevail on that day – nobody got fined.

What gives you the right to park on the grass and plants just because you can’t be bothered getting out of your car and making your own way to the event?

Dame Canberra said :

I don’t understand the fuss. Park illegally, get a fine.

It’s a massive public event right next to the CBD that’s held once a year – people shouldn’t be surprised that parking is difficult!

I don’t understand why you don’t understand?

Firstly – they just extended pay parking into the night and on the weekend in Civic – brilliantly timed to coincide with Floriade.

Secondly – the prime parking area for Floraide (Constitution Avenue) area is a mess. Can’t blame interstate visitors for wanting to park somewhere remotely near the event.

Thirdly – they are inconsistent with issuing fines. Thousands of cars were parked on Parkes Way the other weekend for the fun run. Common sense seemed to prevail on that day – nobody got fined.

“What choice do you have?”

Catch a bus.

Use those those long bits of meat hanging off ya bum.

Exercise your God given Canberra rights and park your 2 tonne gas guzzler actually on the flowerbeds!

There you are for those who only can do the first and only thing that comes to mind.

Seriously……. if you park illegally and get a ticket I have no sympathy. If you have to park close to the event, either go early or late when there are likely to be free parks. A major event should not make parking illegally, suddenly OK. Illegal parking can cause issues like unable to see pedestrians/children for example, its not just about the government trying to make money. While ever people have this idea that they can park illegally for a major event, the government are going to keep issuing tickets until they get the hint.

Ride a bike or something.

If you can’t afford an $88 fine, can you afford a car anyway?

“No illegally parked car was spared”

Good. Seems fair enough to me.

The lady who said there is no where to park is full of it. There is NO shortage of parking in the city. I guess her real issue is there is no where to park with a 1 minute walk.

Oh and Steven yes they do deliberately target events because that is when people choose to park where they shouldn’t and where the illegal parking causes issues for everyone else, hence why it is restricted in the first place. Take that nice green space on Parkes way. It is an 80km/h zone so for cars to ‘park’ they need to slow down in the traffic, veer off. Then they need to walk across the road to get to Floriade or what ever. Then when they are finished need to pull out into traffic that again is going 80km/h. The ONLY even I can think of where parking capacity gets exceeded is Skyfire, but Floriade plenty of legal parking nearby.

And as for Canberra hospital, parking is patrolled by ACT Health, if you are staying in hospital and get a fine, you can just simply write in, prove you were there and all is good. Likewise if your partner, child etc are in hospital all good too. But yeah you do get the fine, inspectors afterall are not mind readers, though if you notify security they will pass your rego onto the inspectors.

I don’t understand the fuss. Park illegally, get a fine.

Catch a bus to Floriade, arrange to get dropped off, or park on the other side of the lake and walk over. Leave the legal parking spots for older people, people with disabilities, families with prams etc, who actually need to park close by.

It’s a massive public event right next to the CBD that’s held once a year – people shouldn’t be surprised that parking is difficult!