‘Money grab’: Driver cops fine despite parking within white lines

A motorist has been told he must go to court to fight a $195 fine despite parking within white parking bay lines.

The white parking lines where Milton Doyle was fined on Boundary St, West End.

A MOTORIST has been told by Brisbane City Council he must go to court to fight a $195 fine for parking in a disused West End bus zone despite parking within white parking lines.

Milton Doyle said he planned to do exactly that, but questioned how many people who believed they were wrongly hit with parking fines just paid up.

Mr Doyle said three other motorists who parked in nearby bays on Boundary Rd, outside the Boundary Hotel — all clearly marked with white lines — told him they could not be bothered disputing it.

A temporary bus zone about 40m away was moved back to its original location outside the hotel, but only after Mr Doyle parked on Boundary Rd on January 20 and received the fine.

“It’s a money grab by Council,’’ Mr Doyle said.

“I wrote to Council and they said it was still a bus stop, despite the road markings, and said I could take the matter to stage two (of Council’s three-stage appeals process).

“I told them I will take it straight to the magistrates court.’’

Council’s three-stage appeals process includes an external review. Motorists can also take matters to court if their fine is still not overturned.

Mr Doyle said he had taken the matter to stage one but when he contacted Council they told him he had no alternative but to proceed to stage 2.

The bus zone sign on Boundary St, West End, near where Milton Doyle was fined.

In August last year it was revealed 35,215 fines were appealed between July 1, 2014 and May 31 2015.

More than 13,000 parking fines, totalling at least $850,000, were successfully overturned after appeal with officer error being in the top five reasons for a fine being cancelled.

Fines are a huge revenue raiser for Council.

Last financial year it issued 254,000 parking fines and each year it reaps about $30 million from them.

Mr Doyle said ratepayers would bear the cost of his case, sadly, because he had photographed the four cars parked within the white lines outside the Boundary Hotel, at 137 Boundary St, on January 20.

“I have a barrister in Toowoomba. Ratepayers will have to pay for him to come down to Brisbane to hear this,’’ Mr Doyle said.

“Two shopkeepers came out at the time and told me they were sick and tired of parking inspectors fining people (at the defunct bus zone). They said this bloke sits down the road and waits for people to pull in.

“You have to wonder, do these people get set a quota they have to meet?’’

He said a bus zone sign was still in place despite the road markings, but since the incident he had paid close attention to the area and had never seen a bus pull in there.

A Council spokeswoman confirmed the former bus zone outside the hotel had been moved last year.

“As a result of works for the West Village project, a bus zone was temporarily relocated to 115 Boundary St, West End, in August 2018, displacing five parking bays,’’ she said.

“The temporary bus zone outside 115 Boundary St was decommissioned and the parking bays reinstated on February 1, once parking signage and meters had been installed.

“Residents who feel they may have been incorrectly or unfairly fined are able to make use of Council’s three-stage appeals process by contacting Council’s 24 hour contact centre.