Inner West Council is now towing vehicles that are blocking the driveways of residents and businesses, free of charge to them.
Towing of offending vehicles will occur only after a resident or business notifies Council that their driveway is blocked. The vehicle will then be towed to a nearby street and local Police and Council's Customer Service Team informed so that the owner of the vehicle can be made aware once they return to find their vehicle has been removed.
In 2024, Council received 4393 complaints alleging illegal parking which impacted driveways. Council Officers are currently attending blocked driveways within three hours in 91% of cases and fining offending vehicles. Under the new rules, these offending vehicles will now be towed away, clearing the driveway for use by the residents.
A new fine of $660 is being introduced to increase deterrence and cover the cost of towing offending vehicles. Currently the fine is $330.
Inner West Councillor Chloe Smith said:
"There's absolutely a need for tougher measures particularly in the Inner West where it's densely populated, we have narrow streets and parking is at a premium.
"I had a family contact me who relied on their cars to drop kids to childcare who couldn't exit their driveway, and also a person who had a loved one in hospital and needed to use their car to visit them.
"It can be a really frustrating and galling experience for people."
