More in inmycommunityCOUNCILS need to start using witness evidence in the battle to stop motorists parking illegally on shared-use paths, a cyclist says.
Roland Parrotte is seeking to stamp out bad parking behaviour on pathways throughout the City of Stirling.
Although he does not live within the council boundaries, he cycles through every morning and afternoon as part of his weekday commute.
Armed with his smartphone and a few applications, he has caught drivers on a weekly basis obstructing shared-use strips and sent details to Stirling rangers.
The 46-year-old said the parking practice not only damaged pathways but could pose dangers for others using the walkways.
“These drivers simply don’t have a right to park there,” Mr Parrotte said. “You could be a parent with a pram on a shared path and, due to the inconsiderate actions of others, be forced to leave the safety of the path to walk around a parked car, possibly going on a busy road...”
“The City prefers wherever possible to issue an infringement at the time it is sighted by officers, as officers are easily able to testify in court if an infringement is challenged,” he said.
I find Mr Laurie Crouch's justification for not using the evidence provided by members of the public such as myself (e.g, Broadtrans Earthmoving and Roland including video evidence staggering. It is incredulous that the City of Stirling finds it all too hard to use evidence from the public, including video evidence.
I find it incredulous because any of us can present in the Supreme Court as credible witness in a say a murder case yet the City of Stirling cannot cope with witness statements.
Any of us can present video evidence to the Western Australian Police and have traffic infringement notices issued. Personally I have been asked to retain my video evidence for possible presentation in court, yet again Mr Crouch finds this all to hard.
The inaction by the City of Stirling lacks justification and suggests a lazy incompetent approach to management of these issues. Mr Crouch clearly needs to address his fundamental lack of understanding of the rules of evidence. The City of Stirling should act immediately to ensure its staff act in a competent manner and to ensure its staff understand the basic principles of the law and rules of evidence.
Andrew