PEOPLE hate getting parking fines, and they’ve usually got an excuse as to why they didn’t deserve it.
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However, this time Orange councillor Ash Brown may have a point when he says the inconsistency in parking signage around the city is confusing.
As Cr Browns says, there are some streets in Orange where drivers can be required to either parallel park or park at a 45-degree angle all within the same city block.
Logically, when you pull into a parking spot you’d expect to be able to park in exactly the same way as the driver next to you, but that’s not always the case.
Of course as many of us who routinely park in Sale Street know the parking conditions are unpredictable and many a driver has received a hefty parking fine simply because they didn’t read the sign they had parked under.
Even Cr Brown has been booked for inadvertently parking the wrong way.
As one visitor to Orange from Bathurst told the Central Western Daily recently, a shopping trip to Orange left a bad taste in her mouth after she was fined for not knowing the quirks of Orange’s parking rules.
It would be interesting to know if the inconsistent signage has resulted in more drivers being fined in those areas compared with other parts of the city.
Orange City Council should investigate using white paint to mark the parking areas where there are inconsistencies as they have done in the area outside Byng Street Local Store.
The area near the store has long been the centre of debate about parking, with neighbours unhappy about some of the parking practices of the coffee lovers who visit the popular cafe.
Let’s hope the simple application of some paint will keep neighbours happy and drivers fine free.