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Parking motorcycles in a private parcel on the sidewalk is illegal, believes the municipality of Oslo.
– At first I thought it was a mistake, says Fredrik Hovland.
Hovland lives a housing association with more than 400 apartments in Sinsen. One day in October in Oslo, all motorcycles and scooters in the housing association’s parking spaces had been fined.
– It came out of nowhere, says Sigurd Wathne, president of the housing association.
It says the spaces are on private land and are regulated for parking purposes in the board’s bylaws. This has been the case for 15 years, since all four blocks were new.
They were all fined – after 15 years
All the owners of scooters and motorcycles in the parking lots were fined on October 24. The reason is that the seats are on the sidewalk. But the images show something else:
– The courts are in an area within the curb, separated by curbs, says Wathne.
– I moved here 15 years ago, when the blocks were new, and I have always put the scooter here. So I was a bit surprised when I was suddenly fined, says Fredrik Hovland.
He complained about the fine, and the Urban Environment Agency in its response to the complaint has insisted that the parking was done on a sidewalk. Parking fines have been imposed and maintained on the basis of the traffic rules § 17, nº 1, letter c: “It is forbidden to stop totally or partially on sidewalks, sidewalks or cycle lanes”.
– The dispute is there, but this is not a sidewalk, and we have the parking rules in the housing association precisely to ensure that vehicles are in the designated space within the curb, says Wathne.
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– quite arrogant
Sigurd Wathne is a bit surprised that the Urban Environment Agency has imposed fines for parking on a private lot, and first thought it was the mistake of an overzealous parking attendant.
That was also the impression he got after a phone call to the Urban Environment Agency. Several of the residents have received a response and rejection of their complaints. They are threatened with legal costs if they appeal the denial to the district court.
– I consider the conduct of the Urban Environment Agency in this case to be extremely arrogant, says Wathne.
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– it’s a sidewalk
The online newspaper has submitted the appeal case to the Urban Environment Agency, and the agency upholds its decision and rejection of the appeals. The fact that the parking lot is on private land has nothing to say, the agency believes:
– The property is not decisive for the valuation of what a sidewalk is. Traffic rules state that there must be a pedestrian facility that is separated from the roadway by curbs, communications director Richard Kongstein says in an email, adding this wording:
– We point out that the aforementioned definition of pavement, the prohibition in letter c, to stop totally or partially on the pavement, applies if the exterior appears to be open to ordinary pedestrian traffic.
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In other words, although the image (see above) shows a clear distinction between pavement and parking, the agency insists that this distinction is not enough.
– The prohibition of letter c, to stop totally or partially on sidewalks, also applies if the sidewalk must be privately owned, if on the outside it appears as open to common foot traffic, Kongstein writes in the email, referring to a decision of the Supreme Court.
Fredrik Hovland and Sigurd Wathne have decided that the case be considered in the Oslo District Court.
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