Bills

Road Traffic (Issue of Free Tickets by Parking Ticket-Vending Machines) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

Mr PISONI (Unley) (10:35): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Road Traffic Act 1961. Read a first time.

Second Reading

Mr PISONI (Unley) (10:35): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

In the way of background, in mid-2007 the City of Unley attempted to begin a 12-month trial of fee-free time-limited parking on council-owned land. In this instance, it was the Boffa Street car park off King William Road. The trial would require motorists who use the car park to display a valid ticket on their dash allowing them to park for up to three hours. The ticket was obtained through a parking ticket vending machine and provided free of charge to the motorists.

After January 2015, the City of Unley council and the council administration raised the issues with me as a motorist had disputed the fine that they received for not complying with the instructions at the car park and was electing to take the matter to court. Subsequently, the motorist had decided not to take the matter further; however, the case demonstrated that the trial was possibly not legally defensible and was halted.

Upon receiving legal advice, the City of Unley determined that the car park could not be operated under the private parking act because, despite the land being owned privately by the City of Unley, the car park is not used for the parking of vehicles by persons frequenting the premises of the owner. There are no council offices nearby, nor any venue used by the council, and the Australian Road Rules, together with the South Australian Road Rules, do not permit a ticketing system where there is no payment.

Advice from the RAA suggests that the main problem lay with Australian Road Rules, part 2, rule 207 (Parking where fees are payable), which states:

…a driver must pay the fee (if any) payable under the law of this jurisdiction; and obey any instructions on or with the sign, meter, ticket, or ticket-vending machine.

This implies a fee-free ticket is permitted; however, the ARA refers to the South Australian Road Traffic Act regulations 2014 because rule 22 (parking and parking ticket vending machines or parking meters) states that:

For the purposes of rule 207(1) (Parking where fees are payable), if the word 'ticket' is displayed on a permissive parking sign, the word is to be taken to indicate that a fee is payable by buying a ticket through the operation of a parking ticket-vending machine.

While the intention of rule 22 is to prevent people claiming that they did not realise that they had to obtain a ticket, it inadvertently rules out the ability to provide time-limited parking, which is administered through obtaining a ticket from a ticket vending machine without paying a fee. One can imagine that free ticket parking was simply not considered at the time of the South Australian Road Rules regulation being drafted.

The City of Unley was attempting to provide car parking free of charge, but also to ensure that motorists abide by the sensible time limit and avoid all-day parking, which is of course a problem that residents in the inner city suburbs know too well. This is a growing problem in my electorate of Unley, in particular on the northern boundary, as people drive in from elsewhere, park in the streets, and open the boot and get their bikes out of the car or alternatively walk into the city. Of course, it does have an effect on the ability for not only visitors and residents who may want to park in front of their houses but also for parking spaces for businesses so people can park freely and use the services that those businesses provide.

Recently, it has been reported that motorists found the system of free three-hour parking through obtaining a free ticket confusing, but I believe that the lack of certainty about the legality of this system may have, at least in part, caused this confusion. Additionally, the City of Unley will now be charging a dollar for motorists to park for three hours in a car park, with one local shop manager suggesting that customers would boycott the car park if fees were introduced. Of course, he was reflecting the feeling of many other traders in the area.

Within the Unley electorate there is an ongoing debate about how to get more shoppers into King William Road, Goodwood Road, Unley Road, Glen Osmond and Fullarton Road shopping districts, and the lack of suitable parking is one of the factors driving the downturn in shoppers visiting the area. We all know, when we have driven through many of the suburbs of Adelaide where we are seeing strip shopping in particular that relies on street parking for its customers, that many are suffering, with many 'For lease' signs going up. There is no doubt that traders in my electorate are very concerned about any barriers that may be put up for people wishing to park and use their shops.

I think that any way that we can make it easier for local government to manage parking and traffic for shoppers, that is, spending their money in local centres, whilst managing the equally contentious issue of all-day parking in surrounding side streets, should be supported. I commend the bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.R. Kenyon.