Napier man wakes to find yellow parking lines in front of hillside property, $60 ticket on car

Bluff Hill resident Tim Barker was shocked to find a ticket flapping on his car at the weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor

A Napier man who parked his car in his normal spot in front of his Bluff Hill garage in darkness was stunned to find yellow lines on the road - and a $60 ticket on his windscreen - when he woke up.

Hadfield Tce resident Tim Barker has a bone to pick with the council, but it is standing firm on the issuing of the ticket, saying he should never have been parking there to begin with.

Barker’s argument is that Napier City Council should have at least notified him of the change before handing out a $60 ticket for parking over the yellow line - three days after it was painted.

The four broken yellow lines were added to the tarseal last Wednesday, in front of two neighbouring garages on Hadfield Tce.

Napier City Council says it did not notify Barker or other residents because it was “a formalisation of existing road code provisions”.

In other words, the council does not notify impacted residents of new yellow lines going in if they are highlighting an existing rule.

“It is against regulations to park in front of a garage or driveway, even if it is your own,” a council statement read.

“Cars were being parked in front of the garages and this was preventing residents on the other side of the road from accessing or exiting their garages,” a council statement read.

The new yellow lines and (inset) how far they extend from the side of the garage.

Bluff Hill is notorious for its narrow roads, and on-street parking is often at a premium.

Barker said it was not uncommon for people on Bluff Hill to park in front of their garages, which he had often done, and he believed there was space for his neighbour opposite to still get in and out.

He said the new yellow lines actually went beyond the edge of his garage as well, which made it challenging to park next to it.

Barker said he and his partner were extremely surprised by the ticket as the council had not communicated with them about the change.

“We wouldn’t have parked over them if we had known.”

He said they had been out early and home late with work recently, which was why they believed they had not seen the fresh lines sooner.

Barker said it was going to be tough for people to find enough parking along the street now as the opposite side was all yellow lines.

He said it also raised a question as well about why the council painted lines in front of some garages and driveways but not all. He will be challenging the parking fine.

* Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.