Motorists told to get off the grass

Residents have long treated the berm of a Miramar street as a place to park but the council has decided those days are over.

Brussels St’s pockmarked and rutted berm has for a long time been treated as a grassy section of the road, with cars freely parking on the grass despite the damage.

The street was cited by a Karori resident in the midst of that suburb’s own parking battle, as the council disallowed cars from parking on a cleared berm by painting broken yellow lines.

‘‘Has anyone ever been to Brussels St in Miramar?’’ asked Peter Lambrechtsen at a council meeting in April, using it as an example of where berm parking appeared to be condoned by the council. ‘‘That is effectively one big berm with multiple cars parked on it. I am not sure how actively enforced this has been.’’

Brussels St resident Johnny Fitzgerald said he had not seen any enforcement against vehicles parked on the grass but said the street was undergoing some big changes. ‘‘We are getting dedicated parallel parking on the street, so if you look at the other end of the road, that is what it will look like.’’

In fact, Brussels St is in a ‘‘before and after’’ situation when it comes to the large berm.

In the east, a large rutted patch of grass laced with holes, tyre tracks and boggy mud lines the street with cars haphazardly parked across it.

In the west, the trees and grass sections have been lined with kerb stones and new markings have been laid out to clearly demarcate where cars can park.

It is a clear message to residents that cars and grass should stay well apart.

According to the Land Transport (Road User) Act 2004 Rule 6.2,

motorists can park on a grass verge as long as they are not ‘‘damaging ornamental grass plots, shrubs or flower beds laid out or planted on the margin’’.

It also states that road controlling authority bylaws or signage can overrule this. However, the argument for damage to the grass would be a fair assessment, with the western grass sections protected by kerbs in significantly healthier condition than their eastern counterparts.

What is more, with the potholes there is a patchwork of permanent puddles.

In a statement, a Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean stated the aims for the works in Brussels St included reducing the width of the road at the intersections to encourage ‘‘lower vehicle speeds for health and safety reasons’’.

MacLean also said the works would ‘‘protect the tree and berm areas from parked vehicle loading’’ and would ‘‘create parking areas for residents and visitors’’. The works were due to be completed ‘‘in the next month, weather permitting’’, he said.

Meanwhile, Devon St in Aro Valley still has vehicles mounted on the kerb, despite the 2021 bylaw ruling against obstructing the pavement. The bylaw replaced a previous rule that permitted footpath parking apart from in the central city and at suburban centres, provided at least 1 metre of footpath space was left free.

Despite this, there were no tickets in sight on any vehicle.

And with those following the law with four wheels on the road, it leaves an exceptionally narrow roadway.

Even small hatchbacks have only centimetres to spare between their wheels and the gutter. Wellington City Council was approached for comment about the enforcement of parking rules in Devon St.