Alternative to Towing Illegally Parked Cars

Someone’s parked in your spot – an infuriating practice that results in untold wasted time and energy. Correcting the situation requires locating the offending driver and perhaps even a heated confrontation. Worse still, there really isn’t much compensation for your wasted hours or the run-on effects such as being late for work.

If you cannot locate the driver, your options diminish even further and you will need to evaluate other options to get the illegally parked vehicle removed from the parking spot. The most obvious option is getting the vehicle towed.

The truth is, towing is not always legally straightforward and the best measure remains preventive rather than reactive. So what are your options?

Option 1: Parking Bollards

Parking bollards are a type of pole or other obstructing, sturdy structure that goes into a parking bay to physically block unauthorised vehicles from entering. Usually, the bollard is foldable or collapsible, which enables authorised parkers to lower it at either the push of a remote control button, via an app or manually via a key.

While many bollard companies exist, not all specialise in bollards for car parks. An example of a company that does is That’s My Spot, who specifically cater to parking bollards for ease of accessibility for users. They stock options such as remote controlled, app controlled or keyed parking blockers. These types of bollards are by design better suited for parking bays than other options such as fixed bollards or temporary bollards – which respectively obstruct the space too well or not well enough for them to be accessible as needed.

When looking for parking bollards, the key features to keep in mind include durability, ease of use and visibility – usually achieved by having the bollard be in bold colours such as yellow.

Option 2: Signage

Some rely on signs to mitigate the chance of illegal parking occurring, however, these can easily be missed if too small or ignored as they aren’t a physical barrier.

Option 3: Boom Gates

Boom gates are a very expensive last resort, and not ideal for guarding individual parking bays such as is the case with visitor parking. They may be suitable for larger parking areas such as massive underground parking basements, who could stand to benefit from a ticket-system or other automated entry barrier.

As illegal parking continues to remain a prevalent issue in congested cities, especially those in high-trafficked areas like the CBD or strata complexes, so it remains wise to put preventive measures in place prior to the unauthorised parking occurring.

While towing is certainly an option, it’s not your only option.