Bottle-o bollards block cars from leaving 15-minute parking spaces

A Newstead liquor store has “locked in” – with heavy bollards – cars that had been left in its car park while the owners went to neighbouring stores.

Vehicles were confined in First Choice Newstead’s free 15-minute parking bays with lockable bollards on Monday, and drivers issued a “warning” telling them to speak to management to “discuss your options”.

First Choice Newstead management was contacted for comment, but did not clarify what the conditions of freeing the vehicles had been.

A local liquor store has locked in the cars of people taking advantage of its free inner-city parking.

A Newstead local, Tennille, posted about the incidents on her community’s online forum, sparking debate.

“There are always people who are patrons of the pub or visitors to the apartments next door who use the very-well displayed car parks designated for First Choice customers,” she said.

First Choice Newstead was within Brisbane’s central traffic area – where free parking is scarce – in the Waterloo Junction complex along with other businesses, including the Waterloo Hotel.

In Brisbane, the council managed parking rule violations on public land, but not private lots.

Solicitor Tim O’Dwyer said the use of lockable bollards was “quite lawful” and “easier than putting a fine on people” who violated parking rules.

“Once they specify the terms of your parking there, if you go and park, you form a contract with the car park owner or the car park manager on those terms,” he said.

Legally, drivers enter a contract with carpark-owners laid out in signage when they enter private lots. Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

Signage at the entrance of the Waterloo Junction parking lot specified that offending vehicles were liable to being towed at the owners’ expense.

Tennille said the store was one of few local bottle shops that had “decent” parking.

“It’s quite obvious that others are using the car parks because when you walk in, there might be one or two other people in the shop,” she said.

“I’ve spoken to the staff about it ... they’re losing business, so I don’t blame them for taking action.”

O’Dwyer said there was no significant legal difference between towing and locking in a vehicle.

“Most car park owners and managers would be reluctant to get tow trucks in to tow people away because of the real danger [that] you can do damage to someone’s car in the process,” he said.

He added that someone “feeling a bit litigious” could contact the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal over a parking payment dispute.

“You can’t hold someone to car park terms if they can’t read them,” he said.

O’Dwyer said such cases also required documented evidence to be worth pursuing.

“It just becomes someone’s word against someone else’s word as to how legible and whether there’s bushes in the way, or the sign has faded, or whatever,” he said.

“The moral is, if you’re going to park in someone’s car park, check the signs out and don’t stay longer than you should, or don’t break the rules because it could be all sorts of trouble.”

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