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DID you forget where you parked your car?
A car spent the entire month of March – and now 11 days of April – parked in the same one-hour parking space on Williamson Street, and has received just one parking ticket.
The burgundy Toyota Camry was first spotted in the parking space out the front of the Shamrock Hotel on February 28.
At the time, its wheel was clamped by the Sheriff’s office.
Two weeks later, the clamp was gone – but the car remained. The Sheriff’s sticker also remains on the front windscreen, albeit almost completely torn away.
It has now been at least 42 days since the driver pulled into the park in front of the pub. Given the space requires a one-hour ticket, it appears it may have overstayed its welcome.
Some of the panels and parking lights have been smashed during its stay on Williamson Street, and a door may have been tampered with.
But the Toyota Camry endures, complete with McDonald’s cups in the cup holders.
One vital clue remains on the car’s dashboard, however – a note that reads: “Car broke down, contact owner!”
A tow truck, anyone?
Council can’t act for two months
Because the car remains registered, it must be parked in the space for two months before it can be removed by the City of Greater Bendigo according to local laws.
Acting manager parking and animal control Caroline Grylls said the council’s hands were tied.
“Under the Local Government Act, it can’t be deemed abandoned until it’s been there unmoved for two months because it’s still registered,” she said.
“If it was unregistered, then it could be towed after seven days.
“The council can also only issue one parking fine.”
The two months started the day the clamp was removed.
Ms Grylls said the council understood it could be frustrating for those wishing to park in the area, but security footage would allow local officers to pinpoint the moment the clamp was removed – and when the two-month countdown could start.