Motorist let off fine for mini parking spot in New Plymouth

An audit has found that some spaces are shorter than the New Plymouth District Council guidelines allow for. Photo / iStock

Taranaki drivers tackling the dreaded parallel park could be forgiven for thinking some spaces in New Plymouth are impossible to get into.

An audit has found that some spaces are shorter than the New Plymouth District Council guidelines allow for.

Road Transport Association area executive Tom Cloke found this out the hard way when he was given a ticket for parking over the lines in a space he says he would never have been able to get into.

He has since had his fine revoked. "I then went and measured others, and found that there are inconsistencies ... in lots of carparks throughout New Plymouth, and people are getting infringed for that.

"You shouldn't have to go searching for a carpark to fit ... a 5.5m car should have a 6m carpark," Cloke said.

But council infrastructure manager David Langford says guidelines allow for a degree of variability in size of spaces.

A subsequent council audit found six spaces out of 876 checked were too short under the guidelines.