Ok OzBargain parking gurus, we went to park to the left of this sign at 8pm on Saturday evening, but gave up and went elsewhere because we were terribly put off by the conflicting signs.
So, for a Saturday evening, what do you think? Should we have parked there? Does the signage allow a driver to choose whether the loading zone or the 4P applies? Or does one override the other? Or would the universe implode if I were to park there?
For a loading zone you choose the "loading zone" option on the machine so you get a free (IIRC) 30 mins if your vehicle complies with the definition of a "goods vehicle".
Doesn't 4P mean 4 hour parking?
Edit: Never mind, I see he is parking from 8pm. You are right, I am confused.
The parking bays exist in a superposition of states.
Or, Louis CK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjaw1JTov80
Depends on your vehicle.
If you have a vehicle that qualifies for a loading zone, based on its rego type, then you can park there without a ticket. But move your vehicle by 3pm Monday.
If you drive a mini-bus or other type of bus then happy days!
Otherwise you can park with a ticket to cover the 2 hours til 10pm but move your car by Monday 6am as you’ll be in a loading zone.
Thought the signs in the image looks suspiciously clean. Almost too clean to be real.
A driver may park in a loading zone if:
They are driving a vehicle that has been built to carry goods and they are engaged in picking up or dropping off goods (up to a maximum of 30 minutes). For example, a driver delivering music equipment at a venue; or
They are driving a public bus and they are picking up or setting down passengers (up to a maximum of 30 minutes).Drivers of other vehicles may also use loading zones to drop off or pick up passengers, but may only stop for the period during which a person is getting into or out of the vehicle.
No, you cannot park there for hours if 'loading'
Drivers of other vehicles may also use loading zones to drop off or pick up passengers, but may only stop for the period during which a person is getting into or out of the vehicle.
Is this rule state specific or nation wide?
Yep
@ThithLord: People usually negative when facts hurts. In my understanding, parking laws are council based, I picked few councils randomly, they all got the same wording 🤷♂️
No, you cannot park there for hours if 'loading'
Yes you can.
You can park there for up to 4 hours between 10am and 10pm on Saturday as long as you pay the meter…
Then that's not loading, thats parking
@jv: I was responding to Dauphin who was asserting you can 'load' for hours without paying for a ticket if you have the right type of vehicle. That is not true. If you are using the loading clause you are limited to 30min.
If you choose to pay for a ticket, you are parking under the 4P signage and loading does not come into it.
You choose to be loading or parking. Not both. Despite my wording, parking refers to both leaving your car in a place, and the legal definition to which the sign applies. Both similar, but not the same.
Lol… that’s not how bus zones and loading zones work…
These zones are only there to allow the set down and pick up passengers or the loading and offloading of goods.
You can’t just have a mini bus and park there indefinitely, nor can you have a cargo van and just leave it there on the parking zone till 3pm Monday.
You get 30 minutes and you still have to put a ticket on it. There's a goods vehicle/loading zone ticket option on the machine
Looks to me like they screwed up the saturday times for the loading zone and it should be 6am to 10am. I cant aee why theyd deliberately put two options on signed parking. It should only be one (IMO) sp theres no confusion. The mon-fri times make more sense.
Either way, if you've got a passenger vehicle and a 4p ticket you can park there on saturdays between 10am and 10pm. Not sure id be keen to risk 'loading'.
After we left the parking spot, this was pretty much the decision we came to. It was probably a sign stuff-up. It was probably okay to park, but an overzealous parking officer might make things difficult for us. I've reported it to council anyway. Hopefully the simple solution is to replace the PM with an AM for the Saturday loading zone.
Does the signage allow a driver to choose whether the loading zone or the 4P applies?
No, the type of vehicle you are driving and what work you are doing in that area determines what sign applies.
Or does one override the other?
Again, it depends on what you are doing there. Are you driving a car and parking to visit a restaurant, or are you parking there in a van to deliver boxes of supplies?
Think of it as a “shared zone” where if you are in a car and going about your day, then you pay to park there during the mentioned time frames. If you a delivery truck driver, you park there for free for up to 30 mins, unload your goods and be on your way.
As for your example, if you are driving a car at 8pm and taking the kids to 10 pin bowling, then pay for your 2 hours (from 8pm till 10pm).
If you are driving a 4 tonne Isuzu Pantech truck and delivering bowling balls, park there, don’t pay, deliver the boxes of bowling balls, and leave.
If this type of sign is going to cause your world to “implode” may I suggest that driving maybe isn’t for you…
If this type of sign is going to cause your world to “implode” may I suggest that driving maybe isn’t for you…
Are you driving a car and parking to visit a restaurant
Ah yes, the old "loading" up on fuel for my body
You wonder how many council staff was required to create this mess.
O-M-G…
Unbelievably stupid and confusing signage.
And incorrect as there's overlap between loading zone and permitted parking times.
Plain stupid. I think maybe th OPs last statement might apply here.
If the ticket machine accepts your money, you are parked legally…
If the machine sells you a ticket from 8pm to 10pm you should be fine. And if you are not fine you’ll at least get one.
That's a good point. We should have tried the machine, and it shouldn't sell a ticket if we were in a no-parking time slot.
and it shouldn't sell a ticket if we were in a no-parking time slot.
Correct… If it accepts your money (make sure you get the receipt), they have agreed to let you park there and have no right to fine you…
The machine may not be space specific, it may apply to several spaces nearby. It may not know where you are parking. Relying on a dumb machine to approve your parking could lead to getting a fine.
This may be 10 years old, but it makes sense… yet it’s still not implemented in many places: https://newatlas.com/better-parking-signs-nikki-sylianteng/3…
or you can just read the existing signs.
they did this in Brisbane before but then some reason they are all gone
6-10pm on Saturday is a wild loading zone time. Pretty sure it's meant to be AM.
At the very least id imagine the 6 should have 'AM' next to it. To me it also appears it shoudld be until 10am, not pm.
Same with the 4P Mon - Fri. These things should be made as simple as possible to cater for the general population.
Didnt see that one. It absolutely should have am or pm on every single instance to minimise confusion.
@Euphemistic: Really makes you wonder how tf something like that gets signed off. The person designing the sign had one fkn job.
Looking at the sign I would think the 4P should be from 6.30 pm to avoid clashing with the Bus time. I would send this off to the local council with a “do better” note. They need to put am and pm on the sign.
Out of interest, what does the sign at the other end of the zone say?
Don’t know. Sorry. Didn’t think of checking. Google street view shows old signage, not what is currently on the pole. It’s this sign, but the linked picture is two years old: https://maps.app.goo.gl/aawFjmSTEaMEfBNR8?g_st=ic
Just press the button on the ticket machine. If a ticket comes out for the 4P, then no issue. Otherwise, you won't have a ticket to display anyway.
Why do they put the Am and PM for the Mon-Fri on the loading, but not a AM/PM for Sat on the opening time?
incredibly confusing signage
Its pretty much saying, you can park for 2hrs till 10pm, if you have a ticket. But can use as loading zone without a ticket.