A LORDS Place resident has warned others about ensuring they park correctly on their properties after he copped a $263 fine in his driveway.
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Ben Humphreys has lived near Bletchington Public School for the past two years and has grown wary of parking on the street due to its busyness during school pick-up and drop-off times.
"I've had two side mirrors knocked off and there's really nowhere else to park - people park on both sides of the street so it's very narrow and you can't get a small truck through," he said.
As a result, he has been parking his car in his driveway, until Monday when he received the fine in the mail.
The ticket was dated May 28.
$263 is an absolute rort.
- Ben Humphreys
"I'd been doing it for two years, I didn't know it was wrong," he said.
"I was pretty annoyed and pretty frustrated that they didn't give me a warning - $263 is an absolute rort."
Mr Humphreys said if he had been warned, he would have been more careful and he knew of another resident who had been fined for the first time in 15 years.
"I haven't heard of any blitz - maybe they could have said after a certain date they would be fining people," he said.
Mr Humphreys said he intended to challenge the fine with Revenue NSW.
Orange City Council spokesman Nick Redmond said warning letters had been delivered to homes in neighbourhoods near schools where there had been complaints before tickets were issued.
He said the parking team had recently responded to a higher number of complaints from the public about cars parked illegally on footpaths and nature strips outside homes.
"Residents and businesses have told council they are concerned about the added safety risk if they have to walk onto the roadway to get around a parked car," he said.
"Even if there is no front fence, it's expected landholders would have a good idea where their property ends and where the public area outside their property begins."
Mr Redmond said once the driveway left the property, it was part of the footpath and residents could not park there.
"There's also been complaints from residents in school neighbourhoods where children have to walk out onto the roadway because of cars parked on footpaths," he said.
Mr Humphreys was not the only motorist given a lesson in the road rules - taxi drivers complained earlier this week of being fined for stopping in bus zones after years of taking part in the practice.
However, they are seeking action through the City of Orange Traffic Committee.
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