7 September 2023
By Grahame Lynch
North Sydney Council has defended its actions against commercial A-frames outside retail premises saying they are motivated, in part, by the needs of disabled residents. However, this policy may be about to be tested by an impending agreement to allow hundreds of rental e-bikes in the LGA.
Council has come under social and broadcast media criticism in recent weeks after it was revealed it had levied a $330 fine on Kirribilli cafe Oski and $990 of fines on North Sydney’s
Urban Sports Injury Clinic for placing small A-frame boards outside their premises.
The Oski board contained a daily saying or witticism and was placed adjacent to a street pole, while the Clinic board was advertising discounted or free consultations for people who couldn’t afford normal physiotherapy as a community service.
But a Council spokesperson defended the enforcement, stating: “sandwich boards are not permitted on footpaths and Council property under the North Sydney Development Control Plan 2013. Where signs are placed on footpaths, warnings are issued to ensure the owner is able to remove the signs before being issued a fine.”
The spokesperson added: “Council is committed to improving our streetscape for disadvantaged members of the community through the recent adoption of the North Sydney Council Disability Inclusion Action Plan. In surveying disadvantaged members of our community, many felt a general lack of understanding within the community of the challenges of living with a disability, and that this was a barrier.”
“It is Council’s responsibility as a leader in the community to support the inclusion of all members of our community and be responsive where they find obstacles to this,” the spokesperson said. “Within our action plan, one of our key actions is to make it easier, safer and more predictable for people with a disability to confidently navigate places and access services in North Sydney. Council’s footpath trading policies aim to ensure free passage for people of all abilities.”
The Council has come under some criticism for appearing hypocritical, given it uses the same A-frames to promote its own events.
To this, the spokesperson said: “Temporary event signs are exempt, however, when Council places signs, a full assessment for accessibility is undertaken. In acknowledging recent pictures on social media, Council staff will only use these signs when staff are present to ensure they remain in place.”
However, Council’s intentions to keep the streets free for unimpeded passage may be tested by a pending new arrangement with Lime, the e-bike operator.
North Sydney Council wants to enter a memorandum of understanding which would see Lime introduce 250 and perhaps as many as 500 e-bikes on a trial basis to the LGA. Riders would be able to leave the e-locked bikes at their destinations in public areas for the next user to then pick up.
Cognisant of so-called “post ride” parking issues, the MoU envisages placing some responsibility on Lime to reduce safety hazards created by its bikes.
Lime will maintain a foot patrol to move bikes parked in appropriate locations. It envisages a three hour response time for “‘dangerously place bikes”, defined as any bicycle that is causing an unreasonable hazard to people’s safety by being parked across a road, or adjacent to or in disabled car parking bays; and a 12 hour response time for “inappropriately” placed bikes.
