Parking
Parking on Verges
Understanding Verge Parking in Quorn and Hawker: What You Need to Know
In South Australia, verge parking — the act of parking a vehicle on the strip of land between the road and the property boundary — is a common sight in many rural areas.
While it may seem harmless or even practical, parking on the verge is subject to specific rules and regulations under local council policies and state government legislation.
A verge is the area between the road and the boundary of a property, it includes the footpath or pedestrian area and can be formed, unformed, paved, gravel or dirt. It provides a safe pedestrian space and vehicular access to properties. It also accommodates public service utilities such as street lighting, power, street trees as well as underground utilities like water, sewerage and phone cables.
What is a Verge?
A verge, also known as a nature strip, is the area of land between the edge of the road surface and the boundary of private property. It often includes footpaths, gravel or dirt verge, grass, trees, street signs, utility infrastructure, and sometimes even driveways.
Though it may appear to be part of a homeowner’s yard, the verge is typically public land managed by local councils.
Why is Verge Parking Restricted?
There are several reasons why parking on verges is restricted and parking is regulated, including the following:
- Pedestrian Safety: Parking on verges can obstruct footpaths, forcing pedestrians (especially those with prams, wheelchairs, or mobility scooters/gophers) to go onto the road which poses a safety risk.
- Infrastructure Protection: Underground utilities such as water pipes, gas lines, and telecommunications cables can be damaged by the weight of vehicles. Also vehicles should not drive over raised kerbs to park on the verge, parking is only permitted on roadside verges where there is no kerb present as driving up over raised kerbs can cause damage to the kerbing.
- Visual Amenity: Vehicles parked on landscaped verges can cause unsightly damage, leading to costly repairs by councils or homeowners.
- Access for Services: Verge parking can block access to bins, postal services, or emergency vehicles.
- Can obstruct vision: Vehicles parking on the verge may impact the line of sight of neighbours or other motorists trying to back out of a driveway and they may not be able to see down the street for oncoming traffic.
Use Designated Parking: Whenever possible, park on the street or in driveways rather than on the verge, parking on the verge should only be as a last resort if parking in your driveway is not available.
Some locations are not suitable for parking in this manner due to visibility, other safety concerns for road users or pedestrians, high pedestrian access and or cycling areas and the presence of verge infrastructure or approved verge developments, and as such this may result in this guide not being applicable and the property owner/resident will be advised accordingly.
Also parking in the manner detailed below should always take pedestrian access and safety in mind and consider issues such as access to services such as bin collection etc.
Below are some examples of what verge parking is acceptable and also not permitted as a guide only.
Scenario 1. – Narrow Sealed Road with wide dirt verge
In this scenario given the narrow sealed road and the wide verge available, parking is permitted on the section of the dirt verge in between the from the edge of the road surface and the line of trees, parking in this instance should be undertaken in between the trees in a parallel manner to the road. Motorists parking in this manner should also be mindful of vehicle line of sight when they are reversing out of their driveways and they should always be able to see the vehicles coming down the road in both directions.
The area between the fence and the trees should also be kept clear for pedestrians and access for mobility aids such as wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Parking is not permitted nose into the fence and parking should always be parallel and not obstruct pedestrians.
Scenario 2 – Narrow Sealed Road with formed kerb and footpath with dirt verge beyond the kerb
Given there is a narrow sealed road and there is a wide dirt verge, parking is suitable on the dirt section of the verge only. Parking is strictly permitted in the formed footpath area between the kerb and the property fence.
Parking is to be parallel (not nose in to the kerb) with the passenger side tyres adjacent to the kerb.
Scenario 3 – Wide sealed road and narrow formed verge
In this scenario, given there is a wide sealed road and a formed kerb and narrow gravel footpath, parking on the verge/footpath is not permitted at all.
Scenario 4 – Wide sealed road with sealed road shoulder section between the road surface and the formed kerb and dirt verge
In this scenario parking is not permitted on the verge area (that is the area between the kerb and property fences) at all, there is ample space on the sealed road shoulder section immediately adjacent the kerb for vehicles to park. Vehicles should park parallel to the kerb with the passenger side tyres immediately up against the formed kerb area.
Scenario 5 – Formed kerb with dirt footpath and a dirt road shoulder area between the kerb and road surface.
In this scenario parking is not permitted on the gravel footpath area at all and parking should only be undertaken in a parallel fashion (not nose in or angle parked) on the dirt road shoulder area with the vehicles passenger side tyres up against the formed kerb.
Conclusion
Parking on verges in South Australia may seem like a convenient option, but it’s essential to understand the rules in your area. By respecting the rules surrounding parking on verges, residents and visitors can help protect public infrastructure, ensure pedestrian safety, and maintain the visual appeal of neighbourhoods. Always check with your local council to avoid fines and do your part to keep your community safe and accessible for everyone.
A further rule of thumb is if you need to drive up over a formed raised kerb, then parking is not permitted on the verge.