North Sydney council issues seizure notice over parked bike

June 2024 · 4 minute read

A woman who tied her bike to a fence on the side of a road has hit out at a Sydney council after a seizure notice was left stuck to the wheel, saying it “feels illegal” to own a bike,

Natasha Usmar said she was “frustrated” when she returned to her bike at Folly Point, in Cammeray, this week to find her bike had been plastered with an “obnoxious notice” stating North Sydney Council would take possession of it if it is not removed in a couple of weeks.

“So my bicycle just got a seizure notice because it’s tied up here to the North Sydney Council property, but there’s nowhere to park my bike, so how am I supposed to get from A to B?” she shared in a TikTok video, which has amassed more than 180,000 views.

“These heaps of car spots, but nowhere to park my bicycle,” she continued.

“And apparently all the people who live around here complain because it’s like disrupting their wellbeing or whatever. I just think it’s ridiculous.”

Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Usmar, who lives on a boat and doesn’t own a car, said she relies on her bike for small trips to the supermarket or to a cafe and would sometimes leave it tied up for weeks at a time.

“I put it there on that strip because it’s out of the way and the cars aren’t allowed to park on that spot, so it’s not affecting any of the people parking, or driving around,” she said.

“I didn’t really understand why anyone would have a problem with it.”

Ms Usmar said she can’t keep the bike on her small wooden boat – which she likened to a “caravan on water that leaks” because there’s limited room and it’s difficult for her to transport the bike from the boat to land via a kayak or tinnie.

When Ms Usmar moved her bike after spotting the notice, she retuned to the area less than 30 minutes later to discover a Volvo SUV had “illegally” parked across a zebra crossing.

“It’s blocking part of the road … the audacity,” she said in the TikTok video.

When she contacted North Sydney Council after receiving the notice, she was told she was not allowed to tie up her bike to any council property, which included a pole.

They also suggested alternative locations to park her bike in the area, however Ms Usmar said they were a 20 minute and 40 minute walk from her home.

“[They] were quite far away, I may as well be walking to my destination if I’m going to do that. So it means that it’s just impossible to use a bike ever,” she said.

“I felt like they didn’t really care about getting a solution,” she added.

Ms Usmar has currently parked her bike at a bike rack outside a cafe, however, she said she is going to have to catch a bus in order to travel to her bike.

In the meantime, Ms Usmar urged the council to add a bike rack to Folly Point for herself and fellow cyclists.

“If you’re going to make the rules that we can’t tie it up to fences and things, then you need to put in the infrastructure to have those options within your rules.”

In a statement to news.com.au, a spokesperon from North Sydney Council said three bikes were issued seizure notices at Folly Point on Tuesday November 14, after they had been observed for 28 days.

More Coverage

“Our rangers and parking officers issue fines when they see illegally parked vehicles, but do not issue fines unless they witness the offence," they said.

“To assist residents and visitors to find a bicycle parking, we have a map of all bike racks in the council area on our website. The nearest bike parking to Folly Point is three blocks along Cammeray Road towards Green Park.”

Responding to Ms Usmar’s request for more local bike parking, the council said they will install “bicycle ring parking at Folly Point in the coming weeks”.

Read related topics:Sydney

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7056aoaafobyoxY6mpq2nop67qHvOp2StoJViv7Ctw2ipopyZmMKtu9SsZJ6kmamybq%2FOrqWcoZyoerSxyLOsq51do7y1tcKeZKiulad6o7XKnmSpmaKgfK%2Bx1qxkrKyfp8ZwrphuaZxwaGuFenyXaXBucZNlsnGBk3Bvm5lnZYSmg5A%3D