A Coochiemudlo Island resident is urging Redland City Council to increase parking bays at the Victoria Point Ferry Terminal.
Terry Hall, who has been travelling back and forth to Coochiemudlo Island for 20 years, said he was constantly having to pay fines up to $154 because of the limited parking bays available.
“In the last 12 months, Redlands (residents) have all gotten to the stage where we just suck up the fines we are getting,” he said.
“The biggest problem we’ve got is that we are persistently competing with the boat trailers all the time.”
Mr Hall said he was not the only one copping repetitive fines as the ferry terminal always had more people than there were parks available.
“I come across at 5am every morning and there are already 30 to 40 people trying to find a park,” he said.
“The boat is always packed, let’s just put it that way.”
Mr Hall works at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital in Brisbane and said the parking issue was affecting his daily routine.
“I do not have time to find a park and I just need to get down to the hospital,” he said.
“If I cannot find a spot, I am just going to have to take the punt and hope not to get a ticket.”
A council spokeswoman said the Victoria Point Reserve parking precinct offered 42 car parking spaces, seven spaces for disability parking and an additional 18 spaces for cars with trailers.
“Dependent on weather conditions and the likelihood of boat owners using those 18 bays for cars with trailers, at the discretion of Victoria Point Marine Rescue (VMR), they can be designated as shared spaces for vehicles, potentially creating 78 overall car parking spaces plus the seven for disability parking,” she said.
The spokeswoman said the grassed area adjacent to the VMR was also open to overflow parking and was available from 4am every Saturday to 10am every Monday, excluding public holidays and school holidays.
“This area accommodates approximately 40 vehicles without trailers,” she said.
She said a further 158 car parking spaces, including 12 spaces for motorcycles, were available on the hill immediately behind the jetty parking precinct.
“Disability parking cannot be provided in this area due to requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992,” A council spokeswoman said.
She said council had exceeded the requirements under the relevant national building codes and standards for the number of disability parking spaces.
“To install further disability parking spaces would require the removal of two standard parking spaces for every one compliant disability parking space,” she said.
