Why a Queensland man’s park has divided public opinion

A man’s “courteous” decision to leave his car on the lawn next to his friend’s house has sparked debate online after he was fined more than $100 over the park.

Maitland Hanley thought he was being considerate by parking his van on the nature strip next to the driveway while visiting a friend in Logan last month.

“There’s not a lot of space on these roads for people to park, so I thought, you know what, I’ll just park up on the grass so I’m not in the way of anyone,” Hanley said.

But Hanley’s decision backfired when a $111 fine showed up in the mail.

“I think it’s ridiculous. I tried to fight it and they weren’t having it,” he said.

The offence – stopping on a nature strip – is illegal under Australian road rules and enforced by local councils with varying penalties.

Twelve other fines have been issued on the same street in the past year. 

“Imagine someone that is struggling to make like a weekly wage and they get a $111 fine,” Hanley said.

The fine has divided public opinion after Hanley took to social media to air his frustrations, despite opting to pay the fine.

“It’s real 50-50 to be honest, some people are like, they’re rallying behind me and then there’s the other 50 per cent that are like ‘get on with it, get over it’,” he said.

Legislation states a legally parked car must be within the property boundary, facing the direction of travel and have all wheels on the road.

There’s a bylaw for roads narrower than six metres specific to Logan City Council that allows nature strip parking if there’s still 1.2 metres of access.

”The weirdest part for me is I was only there for like an hour,” Hanley said.

“I hope that this can help in some way and some other people won’t be parking on nature strips anytime soon.”

Logan City Council said Hanley’s park was “in breach of parking rules issued under s 197(1) of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Road Rules) Regulation 2009, also known as Queensland Road Rules”.

“Council’s role is to uphold the State legislation and enforce parking laws in the City of Logan,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Nature strips and grass verges function as pedestrian thoroughfares and must remain clear to ensure safe access for all road users.”