Parking woes

I’m not sure what we can do about it, but I hear so many complaints about parking in Orange that I feel something needs to be done.

Just in the last week or two I have received letters from people with issues, one claiming to have been photographed in a school bus zone at a time when they were in another part of town, another from someone who believes nose in parking would ease traffic flows in Summer Street.

Another friend, who was driving a sedan, got pinged in a loading zone after parking there for 2 minutes to drop off a food delivery to a local eatery.

I also have personally had ongoing issues with the ludicrous parking arrangements in Lords Place outside our office. They are clearly no longer appropriate in this section of Lords Place since the Council carpark opened several years back.

Over recent weeks we have also heard about people parking on the verge outside their homes being fined, I’m also aware that the taxis are currently concerned about fines their members are receiving because they are trying to drop people off in practical areas but are breaking the law in the process. From what I’ve heard their concerns are very valid and good sense suggests a review of current policies is needed.

Pick up zones around some of our schools have also been in the news recently telling of people breaking laws by stopping to pick their kids up in areas where they shouldn’t.

I’ve also heard there are people being fined in one of the streets somewhere near where the old hospital used to be. My information is the signage is very confusing and possibly no longer appropriate given the hospital is no longer there.

And so it goes on.

My problem is not about the rules, but more about how some situations warrant a different outcome, and not necessarily a penalty. For me, I’d like to see a more simplified appeal process where straight-forward and easily justified circumstances can be verified and dealt with very quickly. In my own particular case, I feel some good and reasonable sense needs to be applied to my rather unusual office situation, and not just applying a one size fits all type thinking.

I think for me, what annoys me most about having to write about things like this, is that there seems to be so many, what I’d call basic or fundamental housekeeping issues that our Council should be dealing with, but they just can’t seem to get the job done.

I know it’s going over old ground, but issues like the Robertson Park toilets, public toilets in areas where visitors can access them easily, or at least clear signage about where they are, changing the parking restrictions in those areas where the current ones are no longer appropriate and so on. There’d no doubt be many more issues that seem to remain on the to do list indefinitely as well.

It seems to me that our Council has almost come to a standstill on getting a lot of straight-forward things done in a timely manner. Even when they do make a decision, I hold our breath wondering who’ll lodge the next rescission motion. I find it all sad and disappointing, especially since, as a businessperson, I see so much that should have been dealt with before this.

Am I the only one who feels some of our Councillors may not be up to the task?