A young woman has been served with a seizure notice for parking her bicycle on a wooden railing on Sydney’s lower north shore.
Natasha Usmar, 39, parked her bike at Folly Point in Cammeray. But when she returned, she was shocked to find a bright yellow sign threatening to confiscate the bike if it was not removed.
“If this item remains in place, North Sydney Council intends to take possession of it after 5pm on 18/11/23,” the notice said.
A surprised Usmar contacted the municipality and they told her that she was not allowed to tie her bicycle to the municipality’s property.
Instead, she was advised to use the council’s designated bike racks to secure her bike.
“So my bike has just been seized because it’s tied up here at the North Sydney Council property, but I have nowhere to park my bike,” she said.
Natasha suffered a severe shock when she returned to her bike last Wednesday (photo).
‘How am I supposed to get from A to B?’
‘All cars get stains. There are a lot of car spaces, but there is no place to park my bike.
“And apparently all the people who live around here are complaining because it’s disrupting their well-being or whatever. I just think it’s ridiculous.’
Ms Usmar explains that she cannot store the bicycle on her compact wooden boat due to limited space and finds it challenging to transport the bicycle from the boat to land using a kayak or tinnie.
“I put it there in that strip because it’s out of the way and cars aren’t allowed to park in that spot, so it doesn’t affect people parking or driving around,” she said.
“I didn’t really understand why anyone would have a problem with it.”
The municipality referred to an online map with places where she can legally park her bicycle, but the nearest place was 20 minutes walk.
“So what’s the point of having a bike that takes you from your house to your destination if you then have to walk twenty or thirty?” [minutes] …it doesn’t make sense,” Natasha said.
Natasha (photo) cannot park her bike anywhere else because she lives on a boat
Natasha’s public advocacy for cycle parking at Folly Point (pictured) has paid off
Ny Breaking Australia can reveal North Sydney Council will install a cycle shed at Folly Point in the coming weeks, in response to Natasha’s request.
A spokeswoman for the municipality confirmed that seizure orders were received last Tuesday on three bicycles in connection with the Unmanaged Public Space Properties Act.
“The bikes were observed for 28 days before they were cleared to move,” she said.
“The council provides cycle parking in the North Sydney local government area and our website invites residents to tell us where and what type of cycle parking they think is needed.
‘When allocating the budget for new cycling infrastructure, we assess all recommendations.
‘To help residents and visitors find a bicycle shed, we have a map of all bicycle sheds in the municipal area on our website.’
It is clear that the owner of the illegally parked Volvo will not receive a fine.
“Our rangers and parking attendants issue fines if they see illegally parked vehicles, but will not issue fines unless they witness the offence,” the spokeswoman added.
North Sydney Council will now install cycle ring parking at Folly Point in the coming weeks