The battle over on-street parking is heating up as one Adelaide council pushes for a change in state laws to better manage the rising number of caravans and boats lining suburban roads.
According to an article by Yahoo News, Charles Sturt Council recently revealed plans to ask South Australia’s Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Tom Koutsantonis, to review legislation, hoping for stronger powers to crack down on large vehicles taking up valuable parking space.
Currently, councils in South Australia face limitations under existing laws when it comes to controlling the long-term parking of oversized vehicles on public streets.
“Council has proposed to write to the Transport Minister to seek a review of the relevant legislation to empower councils to enforce and manage long-term parking and the storage of vehicles such as caravans and trailers on public roads where no other parking restrictions apply,” said Kristie Johnson, General Manager Engaged Community, in a statement to Yahoo News.
Under the Australian Road Rules, vehicles weighing more than 4.5 tonnes or longer than 7.5 metres are prohibited from parking in built-up areas for more than an hour unless specific exceptions apply.
Even so, enforcement has been challenging. Kristie Johnson told The Advertiser that the council had issued 111 expiations in the past year for breaches of the existing parking rules and is now aiming to introduce tighter measures to cut down violations and improve parking availability.
As more Australians embrace caravan and boat ownership, the issue has only intensified. Charles Mountain, Manager of Safety and Infrastructure at the RAA, described the problem to ABC Adelaide, saying, “It’s probably becoming a bigger problem for a combination of reasons.”
“More and more people own caravans and boats than ever before… we’ve got a situation now where modern homes often only have six or eight metres between property boundary and the garage means there is limited space,” Charles added.
He explained further, “People are defaulting to parking their recreational vehicle on the street and of course that causes a lot of problems as the vehicles by very nature are large… the challenge for councils is to manage that because it obviously creates a lot of friction and tension with the resident who feels miffed if they can’t park their vehicle in front of the property they paid rates for.”
The struggle for parking has long been a sore point for suburban communities, with tensions sometimes spilling over into open conflict.
In one infamous case, a boat parked in Sydney’s Northern City Council area was vandalized with the words “f*** it off” spray painted across its side, illustrating just how heated emotions can become over limited street space.
Different councils have responded with varying strategies. Randwick City Council took a bold approach, banning parking altogether along a five-kilometre nature strip that had become a magnet for oversized vehicles.
Meanwhile, North Sydney Council has acknowledged the problem but maintained that the boats and caravans are “legally permitted” to remain parked in the streets.
As of now, Charles Sturt Council has not released specific details about what new restrictions it plans to propose. However, any change would mark a significant development for the RV and outdoor recreation community.
Stricter parking laws could make it harder for owners to store their caravans and boats near home, potentially limiting the convenience and spontaneity that many enthusiasts rely on. Ensuring fair, balanced regulations will be crucial to avoid discouraging the growing number of Australians embracing outdoor lifestyles.