Scott Brunsdon dragged a shirt out of his dirty washing basket, where it had been “marinating for a few days”, checked his stubble and practised a scowl that mixed incredulity with contempt. He was ready to go undercover as a taxi driver.
Lately, Brunsdon has been on a crusade against the growing throng of parked and dumped cars, many of which are taxis or ride-share vehicles, on his Marrickville street. Earlier this month, he took matters into his own hands, approaching a smash repair workshop dressed in his driver “disguise” and asking questions.
Marrickville resident Scott Brunsdon is on a crusade to rid his street of dumped cars and smash repair wrecks.Credit: Kate Geraghty
The wannabe Poirot has been posting updates in a community Facebook group about his ongoing investigation. “I did get a bit of flak from a couple of people for typecasting taxi drivers,” he says.
“But I have realised that it’s the panel beaters who are most to blame. It’s they who have made it necessary for the taxis to stray from their home. They’re sort of like the ibis of the roads, having to find homes elsewhere and being maligned for it.”
This part of industrial Marrickville, where Carrington Road meets Renwick Street, is a hive of car workshops, factories and creative industries, including recycling mecca Reverse Garbage, where Brunsdon is a board member.
There is also a taxi and ride-share base, where drivers change over, or leave their vehicles for the mechanic. Lately, hordes of smashed-up cars, some taxis, some not, have been taking up more space, and the sea of parked or dumped taxis has spread further and further to Carrington Road, nearby Mackey Park and surrounding residential areas.
A dumped taxi in the residential part of Renwick Street, Marrickville, hit with a council notice to impound.Credit: Kate Geraghty
On a recent night Brunsdon said he counted 14 taxis parked on his street, Renwick, and 32 in the surrounding streets. “It’s kind of getting worse and worse,” he said. “It’s affecting locals because they can’t park in front of their house.”
NSW Taxi Council chief executive Nick Abrahim acknowledged the taxi base in the area, blaming driver shortages for the proliferation of parked vehicles.
“We want to make sure that people are doing the right thing,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is be a hindrance to neighbourhoods or communities.”
Abrahim referred further questions to Saad “Bobby” Malik, who runs a smash repair workshop and taxi business at the end of Renwick Street. Malik was stunned to be contacted by a journalist, and demanded to know who had spoken to the Herald.
Long lines of dumped or smashed taxis and ride-share vehicles have become a common sight in the southern part of Marrickville.Credit: Kate Geraghty
He said he was considering going to Nine’s A Current Affair because he was under “unheard of” pressure and had been “harassed” five times by people in uniform pulling up in cars outside his business and taking photographs.
“Any taxi company ... we haven’t got anything where you can put all the cars. We can’t afford it,” Malik said. He said there were many other smash repairers nearby and “I can’t be responsible for everything happening in this area”.
The Inner West Council is now involved in the melee. It said it was investigating several dumped vehicles, and had connected with all the automotive and taxi businesses in the precinct following concerns raised by the public.
It is also consulting the community about a new parking scheme that would introduce two-hour time limits in the relevant areas, with residents exempted in some streets.
Labor councillor Mat Howard said there was genuine tension between industrial and residential activities in south Marrickville, but it could be relieved.
“We want to see businesses in our industrial precinct thrive, but that has to be balanced with the amenity of local residents,” he said. “I don’t think it’s tenable for a business to be taking up all that parking on public land as its business model.”
South Marrickville was targeted for redevelopment by developer Mirvac several years ago, but the plans were abandoned in the face of opposition from residents and politicians, including Anthony Albanese. State MP Jo Haylen, also the transport minister, is a strong proponent of retaining the suburb’s 67 hectares of industrial land.
Brunsdon’s crusade drew mixed reviews from members of his local Facebook group. Hayley Sims, who moved from Rushcutters Bay to Marrickville partly because it was easier to park, said it was increasingly difficult to find a spot after coming home from work.
“It’s a mild annoyance that turns into a major annoyance after a while,” she said. “Something needs to be done … I’m thinking of moving out because of it.”
But another person was ambivalent. “Soon all Carrington [Road] and surrounds will be apartments, [it will] be much worse,” they wrote.
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