Readers' Views: Council goes to a lot of trouble to create ill feeling

Yesterday we asked you to tell us your parking stories. Here is a sample of those received:

A couple of years ago, I received a $40 parking infringement notice for parking with one tyre on the concrete incline (where the kerb dips for my driveway).
My vehicle was parked parallel to the road, not on the footpath, but with just one tyre on the concrete.
I thought there must be some mistake, so I wrote to the Auckland City Council and got a fabulously bureaucratic diatribe in return, the gist of which was that the narrow strip of concrete is deemed to be public property and that I had indeed parked on the footpath.
So I paid my $40 fine - and thought what a lot of trouble the Auckland City Council had gone to to create ill feeling.
I think Auckland City Council does some great work.
It's a shame that counts for nothing in the aftermath of a single, unnecessary parking ticket, for what I consider to be a reasonably marginal infringement.
- Peter Roband, Grey Lynn.

My children both go to Long Bay Primary School and for a school of its size there is very little parking available for parents to use.
We have on a regular basis not one or even two, but three traffic wardens who arrive to make money out of us "soft targets". They even have the cheek to park their cars in the precious few parking spots available to us parents and then proceed to fine us for illegal parking.
I have been fined $60 for having the back end of my car overhanging a yellow line. I have on numerous occasions mentioned to them that they should be doing some real work with real offenders rather than preying on mothers fetching children from school.
- Debbie Kennedy.

I live in St Johns and have just started a new job in the city.
To avoid the high cost of petrol and inner-city parking I've decided to take the train when I can. I also believe those of us who can take public transport should, to avoid making Auckland's traffic problems worse.
On Tuesday this week I drove to the Glen Innes train station. There were no parking spaces left in the train station parking area, and none on the free parking road nearby (Merton Rd).
I parked across the road from the station in a large shopping carpark which I've never seen full.
I didn't know where else to park and I don't want to be walking a great distance to my car around Glen Innes in the dark at the end of the day.
I got back to my car at the end of that day to find a $42 parking ticket on my windscreen. Made me really glad I made the effort to help out Auckland's traffic woes.
- Catherine Webster.

A quick visit to a shop on Queen St was required, it was 5.30pm, a coin or two should take care of parking.
But hang on a minute, the parking meter only let me have 24 minutes to 5.54pm. That meant a parking warden could ticket me even though I'd paid the correct price and was six minutes away from the 6pm free parking deadline.
What's with that?
- Tanya Macdonald.

It baffles me that parking wardens are driving around at night and on the weekends checking warrant of fitness and registration stickers under the cover of darkness, issuing infringement notices if they find a hit.
Last Sunday evening I visited a friend who lives in a low socio-economic area in central Auckland.
For half an hour I observed a warden walking and driving up and down the street checking vehicles.
I would say some of these wardens are getting very greedy and the council is condoning it - how else are they going to get money for the Auckland roads and the Britomart underpass?
- Joanne Vowles.