Council installs ‘no parking’ signs after resident complains about neighbour’s caravan

A Sydney resident has successfully lobbied council to install “no parking” signs in front of her house after complaining about her neighbour’s caravan.

A resident in south Sydney has successfully lobbied the local council to install “no parking” signs in front of her house after a neighbour began parking his caravan next to her driveway.

The small 15-metre stretch of busy Queensbury Road in Penshurst has now been declared off limits, reportedly sparking the ire of neighbours on the street.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in this council before, just approving one person in a street to put up a no parking sign purely because she doesn’t want anyone to park out the front of her house,” neighbour Michael Bajjada told Nine News on Thursday.

The landscaper said the dispute started when he bought his caravan 18 months ago.

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Michael Bajjada said he had ‘never seen anything like this’. Picture: Nine

The woman complained to council about his caravan. Picture: Nine

“They could have consulted me, they could have perhaps asked me if I had a strategy for removing the caravan and putting it in storage which I probably would have obliged, instead of punishing the entire neighbourhood with less parking,” he said.

The local traffic advisory committee, which is chaired by council but also includes police, state MPs and Transport for NSW delegates, voted unanimously to install the signs at a cost of $700 to ratepayers.

Council said in a report to the committee that it had received a request from the resident for no parking signs “to be installed for the full frontage of their property to provide additional sightlines while egressing their driveway”.

Council approved a 15-metre ‘no parking’ section of the street. Picture: Nine

Neighbours want the signs removed. Picture: Nine

“The resident has advised that due to multiple large vehicles, trailers and camper vans legally parked within street up to the intersection of Argyle Street, there has been difficulties egressing their property on a daily basis with multiple near misses recorded,” the report said.

Mr Bajjada told Nine News there had been no consultation with neighbours despite it being a public road.

He said he wanted the signs removed as they had impacted parking on the street for everyone.

“If there is less parking in a street which is next to a park and a library then obviously that affects everyone,” he said.

He also warned that the installation set a bad precedent for the council.

“What do they say, you know, the greasy [sic] wheel gets the oil?” he said. “Well, I hope I get some oil this time.”

The new signs were installed on October 12. Picture: Nine

The traffic committee ‘unanimously adopted’ the proposal. Picture: Nine

In a statement on Friday, a Georges River Council spokeswoman said the request had been made in August due to Mr Bajjada “allegedly parking both a truck and a caravan in front of the resident’s home and obstructing her access and sight line when exiting the driveway”.

“Council officers investigated the matter and prepared a report for the Georges River local traffic advisory committee proposing consideration to install ‘no parking’ restrictions fronting the resident’s property to improve sightlines and remove any obstructions while egressing their property,” she said.

“Under NSW Road Rules, vehicles are not permitted to stop within 10 metres of an intersection, therefore regulatory 10-metre ‘no stopping’ restrictions were also proposed to be installed at the intersection of Queensbury Road and Argyle Street.”

She said the report was “unanimously adopted” by the committee on September 6 prior to approval at the council meeting on September 26.

The new signs were installed on October 12.

“Compliance provides seven days grace period after installation and Council Rangers have issued a warning notice to vehicles parked within that space to ensure they will not be fined from October 19,” she said.

Originally published as Council installs ‘no parking’ signs after resident complains about neighbour’s caravan