A crackdown on parking on verges in two Queenstown housing estates is on the way.
At a meeting yesterday, the Queenstown Lakes District Council subcommittee voted in favour of putting up signs prohibiting drivers from parking on verges in Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country.
Erecting the signage — which will be placed at the entrances of both subdivisions — means the council can legally fine people for parking on any verge in the areas.
The changes are part of the council’s new traffic and parking laws, which came into effect on March 1.
The subcommittee, which first met in January, heard there had been 25 complaints about people parking off the roadway since the end of 2017.
Subcommittee chairwoman Cr Alexa Forbes said there were parking issues in the two subdivisions because ‘‘there are so many people living in those areas and there isn’t a lot of space to park’’.
However, the verges were being significantly damaged.
"Cars are heavy, and they damage infrastructure underneath the verges, as well as the surface areas, like lawns."
The council would not be ticketing people immediately, and would run an education programme to begin with.
An enforcement period would start with warning notices, before people were eventually ticketed.
Cr Forbes could not say when those changes would occur.
Related Stories
Comments
Looks like the roads will be blocked then. How about some more affordable housing so we don't have to cram into houses just to make ends meet? And better public transport as well.