Residents left fuming after ‘ridiculous’ fines for parking in front of homes leaves large divide online

Fines being handed out to residents parking outside of their homes has ignited debate online and divided a regional Queensland community.

Residents are complaining of receiving tickets for parking out the front of their own homes.

Fraser Coast residents are outraged after being fined for parking on the nature strip outside their own homes as the council unveils a new “dangerous parking strategy” outside schools.

Residents have complained about receiving tickets for parking on nature strips and in their “own driveway” when the adjacent road is too narrow for other cars to pass safely.

They have taken to social media to vent their frustration.Comments on these posts are clearly divided, with one side claiming the fines are “ridiculous” while the other citing it as a “huge problem”.

“Concentrate on roads, rubbish and rates”, one commenter said.

Another commenter on the other side of the argument wrote, “It’s not safe if children cannot walk on the footpath and have to walk on the roadways to navigate getting home from school”.

One confused resident took to Facebook to vent her frustrations on why she received a ticket.

Deputy Mayor Paul Truscott confirmed that an increase in council ranger officer roles have been filled for the first time in years.

With more officers patrolling compared to past years, tickets and citations are also likely to rise.

“Council very regularly received complaints that people were long overstaying the regulated parking times”, said Cr Truscott.

“Ranger officers have been out more now, and now there’s been more complaints from people who have received infringement notices”.

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The increase in parking inspectors on patrol coincides with a media release from the council this morning detailing how new parking safety technology will be trialled near schools.

It will reportedly involve “fixed cameras at schools and mobile cameras in residential areas to improve monitoring and make school drop-off and pick-up safer”.

“The trial will focus on high-complaint areas to detect and record illegal parking, using AI-powered technology”, Cr Truscott said in the media release.

The trial is set to begin at St Helen’s State School in Maryborough at the beginning of term 1 in 2025.