The residents of the Juliana Village, Miranda feel they have been put on the spot over the installation of a 24/7 No Parking sign outside their homes a Bimbadeen Avenue.
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The no parking sign was installed by Sutherland Shire Council in May last year outside the entrance to Logeman Court in the village and the residents have found that it is restricting their access in many ways.
They have been told by the council that the restrictions are needed for garbage trucks to turn in the street which is a cul de sac.
After several letters and a petition calling for it to be removed, the residents have been told by the council that there is no way the sign can be taken away.
They say this is causing a major inconvenience for the elderly residents, many who are infirm, and who have used Bimbadeen Avenue for overflow parking for many years.
“There are only 12 parking spaces available on-site at Logeman Court so we need that outside space for many reasons, including frequent ambulance calls, food deliveries, tradesman and people calling on relatives,” resident, Judy Wise said.
“As there are not enough off-street parking positions available at Logeman Court for the number of residents who have cars, at least two or three need to parking in Bimbadeen Avenue.
“We feel it is unfair to make these ladies who are infirm have to drag their shopping further along Bimbadeen Avenue.
“Some residents have lived here for up to 11 years and there has never been any need for parking restrictions.
“After the sign was installed in May last year I tried to contact council several times but had no reply for seven months.
“It is only after we made representations through Miranda MP Eleni Petinos that the council bothered to reply.
“The council said the space was required for trucks to pick up bins on Thursday and there is an occasional need to operate garbage trucks on other weekdays to collect missed bins.
“But this should not require parking to be restricted 24/7.
“If you follow their rules then you wouldn’t be able to park there at midnight on Saturday because there may be a garbage collection. It just doesn’t make sense.
“The council only needs to change the sign restricting parking on Thursdays leaving other days free. This would be a great help to us.”
“The garbage from Logeman Court is cleared by a private contractor who has advised us that he has the same sized truck as the council and he has no problems turning,” Mrs Wise said.
“With respect, we would like to point out the in contrast to the occasional need for a council driver to require this space throughout the year, there are a great number of other people who are inconvenienced who need to park in that vicinity almost every day of the year.”
A Sutherland Shire Council spokesman said, “"The area signposted as 'no-parking' was never designed for vehicle parking. It is a purpose built turning area that allows all vehicles entering Bimbadeen Avenue to undertake a 3-point turn safely rather than reversing back out the narrow street.
“While this primarily ensures Council's waste vehicles can operate safely, it also provides for larger, private vehicles to manoeuvre easily before exiting Bimbadeen Avenue driving forward rather than having to reverse."
