RESIDENTS near Fremantle’s netball courts are moving their cars out of garages and driveways and onto verges to avoid being blocked in during Saturday games, according to one local resident.
Peter Tresise, who has lived on Coode Street for the last 23 years, said selfish, dangerous and sometimes illegal parking by those looking to get to the netball courts for a game were making life difficult for local residents.
He said as recently as July 29 he watched as an elderly woman living on Holland Street tried numerous times to leave her driveway, the simple task made difficult by all the cars surrounding her.
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READ NOW“Talking to locals it is almost a weekly issue, however, me personally I would say fortnightly, but at least monthly.”
Mr Tresise said his attempts to contact City of Fremantle had gone unanswered but that he did not understand why rangers did not patrol the area more often, with fines the biggest deterrent to parking in an area illegally.
“The lack of policing or enforcement by the City of Fremantle ignores a possible revenue aspect and clear legal requirements need to be reinforced,” he said.
“I cannot get the City of Fremantle to respond to any of my requests regarding netball parking and when I have telephoned the netball courts they advised me that they would announce such over the public address system.
“Rangers need to police the area weekly during the netball season and an education process needs to be adopted by both the City and netball association with ongoing reinforcement of a defined policy by either or both organisations.”
Fremantle’s city business director Glen Dougall said the City’s goal was to find the right balance between parking for netball families, safety for pedestrians and safety for local residents.
“The City receives a small number of complaints every weekend in the netball season and this number has reduced since we installed new parking signs around the precinct earlier this year,” he said.
“Parking officers attend whenever we receive a complaint and, although they’d prefer not to issue infringements, they will issue a fine if the parking is considered unsafe or inappropriate.
“Options to improve parking and access in the Gibson Park area are part of the City’s discussions with the new State Government regarding the High Street upgrade that is now in the planning stage.”
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