`Sign happy' council slashes street spaces North Shore Times Liam FitzGibbon
LANE Cove residents are outraged after a ``no stopping' sign was installed on their street taking away 60 per cent of their parking spaces.
Residents of Mafeking Ave and Gatacre Rd said they received no prior notification from Lane Cove Council about the installation which has pushed allocated parking zones a significant distance back from the street corner.
Resident Hayoung Kim received a $175 fine at 10am the morning after the sign was installed and said she ``didn't notice the changes'.
Ms Kim said she had been parking in the same spot for six months.
Osbourne Park Progress Association vice president and street resident Ron Gornall said residents were most annoyed there was no notification of the changes.
Mark Thompson, who works in the area, said the rangers could have put a warning note on Ms Kim's car rather than fining her.
Resident Shona Blewett said she believed the council had gone ``sign-happy'.
Mr Gornall said residents were already squeezed for parking space as it was.
``We need a lot of parking spaces because we've got houses here and offices nearby which take up a lot of space,' he said.
``Many of us don't have off-street parking and they've wiped out more than 60 per cent of the street parking.'
A Lane Cove Council spokeswoman said following the complaints, the council had agreed to move some of the signs so there was a loss of only two car spaces.
She said the council had a policy of a one-week grace period for the community when new signs were installed and would be willing to discuss Ms Kim's fine.
Many signs throughout the area were being altered following a directive from the RTA, the spokeswoman said.