Drastic measure neighbours have been forced to take as illegal parking act overruns their Perth suburb and turns locals against each other
Residents who are tired of the illegal parking law in their neighborhood have taken matters into their own hands by contacting their neighbors via an app.
Several locals have been pushed to their limits by the number of parked cars blocking footpaths at Tapping, in Perth’s north.
They decided to take the drastic measure of photographing the vehicle and then uploading the incriminating images to the Snap Send and Solve app.
The municipality is alerted to this and issues a fine to the owner of the illegally parked vehicle.
Local man Kevin West said cars parked on footpaths are a nightmare for residents using the walkway.
Fed-up Perth residents have cracked down on cars blocking footpaths (pictured), reporting their neighbors who committed the illegal parking act using a popular app
“Basically the sidewalk is blocked,” he told 9News.
‘You have to walk around. You have to squeeze past on the left side of the vehicle, or you have to physically merge into traffic.”
Mr West urged motorists to be mindful of pedestrians who have the right to use the footpath.
“Just do the right thing, footpaths are there for a purpose,” he said.
So far this year, around 6,000 reports of illegal parking in Perth have been made using the app – a 61 per cent increase from 2023.
Danny Gorog, CEO of Snap Send and Solve, said illegal parking unnecessarily increases traffic congestion.
“Perth in particular is a very car-oriented city and it’s clear that as more people drive, it becomes increasingly difficult to find car spaces,” he said.
Drivers have also reported incidents of motorists abandoning vehicles (pictured) or those parking their cars in disabled parking spaces
The Snap Send and Save app allows residents to take photos of abuses they see in their neighborhood and send these images to municipalities to have the problem resolved (stock image)
Illegal parking is the most reported issue on the app, which is only available to residents of Australia and New Zealand.
More than 40,000 reports were made across Australia between January and April.
Motorists reported 3,138 incidents of illegal parking in NSW in May.
Residents have also put up photos of abandoned cars and of vehicles parked illegally in disabled parking spaces.
Mr Gorog said the increase in illegal parking could be caused by a lack of parking spaces or the cost of finding a parking space.
Driving or parking on a footpath is illegal and motorists will be fined for this offence.
Queensland drivers will lose three demerit points and be fined $361.
NSW motorists face a similar fine, while drivers in the ACT could be forced to pay $307.