Residents speak out as broken down vehicles from NorthConnex, M1 left abandoned on residential streets

Broken down trucks and cars on Sydney motorways are being towed onto residential streets as part of a policy residents say have turned their suburbs into ‘dumping grounds’.

A photo of a truck dumped from NorthConnex on a residential street.

Broken down trucks and cars on Sydney motorways are being towed by transport officials onto residential streets as part of a policy residents say have turned their suburbs into “dumping grounds”.

Streets in Mt Colah and Wahroonga are bearing the brunt of laws allowing vehicles to be legally towed and parked in non-restricted residential parking areas if they have broken down on the side of the NorthConnex tunnel and M1 Pacific Hwy.

Once towed, the policy allows for the owners of the broken down vehicles to arrange for roadside assistance or have their cars or trucks towed to mechanics or car yards.

But since 9km of the NorthConnex opened to traffic in 2020, there has been a spike in complaints about broken down vehicles left abandoned outside homes for months on end.

One Mt Colah resident, who asked not be named, said a broken down truck parked by NorthConnex operations staff outside his home took five months to be removed.

There has been a spike in complaints from residents living along the path of the M1 and NorthConnex.

“It was blocking my side of view coming out of the driveway – it was a safety issue and caused two side swipe accidents because of the size of it,” he said.

“It was parked in October and we contacted (Hornsby Council) but they told us because it was registered until the end of December there was nothing they could do.

A photo of the truck that took five months to be removed.

“After that it was a non-stop communication – we went through the mayor, our MP Matt Kean and eventually we got in direct contact with a ranger in March who issued a notice for it to be impounded.

“The whole process took five months and the truck got grafted while it was left there and all the neighbours were complaining.

“Whatever breaks down on the motorways we’re ending up with on our streets. It shouldn’t be allowed.”

Hornsby councillor Nathan Tilbury said he had received multiple complaints from residents about the issue and is calling on new Roads Minister John Graham to ensure broken down vehicles are taken to a designated holding facility or depot rather than parked on residential streets.

A photo of NorthConnex.

He said the current policy was ultimately costing taxpayers due to Hornsby Council having to foot towing bills once vehicles are abandoned.

“Council resources are not unlimited, and the appropriate agencies should take responsibility for managing abandoned vehicles left on their roads without passing this additional work to council with associated resources and financial implications,” he said.

“It’s impacting the amenity of our suburbs and in some instances, can raise issues for vehicle and pedestrian safety.”

Hornsby councillor Nathan Tilbury.

Transport for NSW in a statement said current protocols allow Transurban’s Incident Response team to arrange to have broken down cars on the NorthConnex motorway taken “to a safe, legal parking location out of the tunnel and away from the main motorway”.

“This is under agreement with the driver and enables them or a designated vehicle service provider to attend to or repair their vehicle in a safe location,” a spokeswoman said.

“The vehicle owner has responsibility for removing their vehicle from that location.”

Broken down vehicles are being left in suburbs including Mount Colah and Wahroonga.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the issue of vehicles left abandoned on streets was a challenge to address.

“The cost of towing is significantly less than the worth of a vehicle so if the owners want to dump it becomes a matter for police and the council to organise the tow,” he said.

It is understood the local council has also received complaints from residents about vehicles that have been abandoned – as opposed to broken down – being towed onto residential streets.

In a statement, Transport for NSW said in this situation – where vehicles were abandoned, rather than broken down – its policy was to tow the vehicles from the motorways to local depots.

On NorthConnex abandoned vehicles are taken to a secure compound at the NorthConnex Motorway Operations Complex at West Pennant Hills while those on the M1 are taken to the Mooney Mooney depot giving the owner an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle

If not collected by owners, the vehicle is taken to a secure storage depot at Granville.

A Hornsby Council spokeswoman said the concil could not confirm exact figures for how many vehicles are being abandoned on local streets as the vehicles “are not marked or identified when deposited on local streets.”

“Abandoned vehicles on local streets that are not collected by owners/ Northconnex/ M1 Motorway contractors are removed at council’s cost,” she said.

“Towing fees are approximately $200 for a standard car and $600 for larger vehicles.”