A long-time Queenstown restaurateur is fed up he and his customers have lately been issued parking tickets willy-nilly for pick-ups and drop-offs outside his Cow Lane establishment.
The Cow’s Malcolm Price admits they’re parking on yellow lines but points out they’re on a service lane.
He says he’s getting pinged by council CCTV cameras when he drops off goods in the morning while customers who go in to collect pre-ordered pizzas are also being slapped with $60 parking tickets.
‘‘I’ve had customers phone up and say, ‘hey, look, we can’t come down and get a pizza because we’re going to get a $60 parking fine’, which is absolutely bullshit.’’
Farcically, Price says he’s even been fined for driving down Cow Lane when he’s got stuck behind a truck and can’t move.
He suggests anyone briefly stopping outside his restaurant should be given a four- or five-minute grace period.
Council spokesperson Sam White says they acknowledge business owners drawing this matter to their attention ‘‘and welcome ongoing dialogue about vehicular use of Cow Lane’’.
“It’s a service lane”: Cow Lane businessman Malcolm Price
He adds they also involve the Alliance, having done the street upgrades, in that process.
‘‘At this stage, we can confirm we have been reviewing the status of the parking bays at the Beach St end of Cow Lane with a view to making these loading zones.’’
White says anyone who believes they’ve been ticketed incorrectly can apply for a waiver.
‘‘Nationally, observing broken yellow lines is important to en sure the safety of all road users and therefore needs to be enforced consistently.
‘‘However, parking on broken lines does not include someone waiting behind another vehicle as long as they did not leave their vehicle or pick up other people.’’
Meanwhile, a local cabbie says he was sent a parking fine for dropping off on yellow lines an elderly customer with a walking frame at the rear of the casino building this month — ‘‘it was as far as he could walk’’.
The cabbie was this week waived the fined but warned there’d be no lenience next time.
