A woman has been fined for parking in a loading zone while donating goods to the Williamstown Hospital Opportunity Shop.
Williamstown resident Carol Glavich said she was donating a carload of clothing and bedding left over from a garage sale held to raise funds for her teenage daughter’s trip to Africa.
She said an elderly volunteer from the op shop advised her to park in front of the Ferguson Street store and helped her bring the goods inside.
Ms Glavich said she was shocked to receive a $159 fine in the mail just before Christmas.
“I had firstly parked in the centre street carparking and went into the op shop asking them if I could drop the load out the back,” she said. “I was told that ‘you can offload goods to the shop out the front if you keep your boot up and it is obvious you are dropping off donations’. An elderly volunteer and I were carrying boxes in together and I was only there for a very short time.”
Hobsons Bay corporate services director Tammi Rose said the council often withdrew fines, but the circumstances in this case did not meet the requirements.
“We have reviewed the photographic evidence and the vehicle was parked illegally and the fine will stand,” she said.
“Council receives numerous complaints from commercial delivery drivers in relation to the inability to park in loading zone areas due to the loading zones being occupied illegally by private vehicles.”
A spokeswoman from Western Health, which runs the op shop, said the council had been asked for clarification of the rules.
