Ute driver's annoying act shows why possible new parking tax looms
Officials in Australia's largest cities are pushing for change, and this picture snapped in a Melbourne car park shows exactly why.
Another day, another driver mad at the oversized utes taking over Australian roads. As backlash continues to grow, it's images like this that show why many are pushing for larger cars to incur an extra "tax" for parking and using inner-city roads.
A photo posted by a Melbourne resident on Sunday shows a new model of monster ute so big it's forced to park diagonally across two car spaces to prevent its rear from sticking out too far. The picture is believed to have been snapped at the Burwood Brickworks shopping centre and shows what appears to be the latest luxury pick-up truck from GMC.
The extra lengthy ute is over five metres long, meaning it has no chance of fitting in a typical car spot.
"I hate those f***ing utes so much," one user responded after the image was shared to the city's Reddit page. "This wankpanzer again. Why hasn't someone let down it's tyres yet?" another said.
"To be fair, it’s probably better than the ass sticking out of the back by a mile," a third commented.
While Standards Australia has called for larger parking spaces in Australia to accomodate the increase in bigger vehicles, The Australia Institute said such a move to do so and to also widen Australian roads would be of "great expense and to the detriment of urban greenery".
Council still exploring parking tax idea
The latest vehicle data showed Australians bought more than 109,000 new cars during March, with light commercial vehicles, including utes, making up 21 per cent of purchases. While many drivers are embracing the oversized pick-ups, city councillors in Melbourne are pushing back against their adoption.
Last month the Yarra City Council unanimously voted to investigate the potential to raise parking fees for large vehicles — following a policy adopted in Paris which has seen larger SUVs slugged a $30 per hour rate to park in the inner city. The move, which was voted for by a majority of residents, aims to tackle air pollution, climate change, and road safety.
Greens Councillor Sophie Wade who led the charge for Yarra council to push ahead with a similar idea says the city simply isn't designed for the US-style utes.
"We've got streets that just weren't designed for this kind of vehicle," she told Yahoo News Australia in March. "They're narrow, we've got lots of pedestrians, cyclists, shoppers on busy shopping strips, lots of kids getting to school and childcare. It's nerve-racking having these big giant vehicles bearing down on you."
Speaking to Yahoo on Monday, a spokesperson for Yarra City Council said officers were continuing to explore the idea but there was no official update on that process.
Urban Development expert Dr Christopher Standen at the University of NSW previously told Yahoo while such a move in Australia "sounds like a good idea", it may not be as effective as desired due to the sheer amount of private parking available. However one of Wade's biggest concerns is visibility of both pedestrians and drivers while these vehicles are parked on the street, noting children — and even adults — can't see beyond them when looking to cross busy roads.
Not only are opponents of the vehicles arguing they pose a safety risk, their emissions and impact on the road surface are also reasons put forward to tax the vehicles.
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