Residents of Rooney avenue have no choice but to park on nature strip due to narrow roads and incoming traffic

Vin Ford has been slapped with two infringement notices for parking his car on the nature strip above the kerb.

But he maintained the narrow roads were forcing him and other residents to park on the nature strip in order for school buses to get through.

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Mr Ford and his family have lived in the neighbourhood for eight years and said he was disappointed with the lack of communication around issues beyond his control.

He had no choice but to park where he did.

"It's not good enough, if you park on the nature strip, you're getting warnings," he said.

"But if you park on the road, it's a tight squeeze for anyone to get through and we're being urged to move."

Mr Ford said he received a warning after getting home from work late one day and decided to dispute it, claiming there were no bus signs and the roads were too narrow.

He said he found it unfair the council came to the street without talking to people first as he wanted to explain why they were parking on the nature strip.

"We try to do the right thing by giving people extra room when driving on the road," Mr Ford said.

"I'm always worried someone will back into my vehicle, especially because buses come through this are.

"But this road is not a designated bus route and, if it was, where are the bus signs?"

Resident Chris Phillips said the practice was "bullying."

"Why aren't they sending people out to talk to us about the problem instead of slapping poor people with a warning? It's not the right way of doing things," he said.

Resident Kaz Cox said the whole neighbourhood wanted answers.

"There needs to be something done, it's not good enough, and no one is listening."

She and her husband, Chris Cox, live a couple of streets away.

"We need so many things, and no one is interested in helping," Mrs Cox said.

"More families are moving into the neighbourhood with more than one car and there's nowhere to put them."

Council environment and community protection manager Mark Verbaken urged the community to follow parking restrictions.

"Council parking officers attended the location in response to complaints about illegal parking and have issued warnings as well as fines to repeat offenders," Mr Verbaken said.

"The council has received no complaints from bus operators about access in Rooney Ave."

Concerns about nature strip parking are often centred on damage caused to the grass surface, along with nearby trees and the underlying root systems.

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