Is this the most confusing sign EVER? Complex parking rules are mocked on social media - inspiring a driver to create a graphic to make sense of it
- A set of Sydney street signs has sparked confusion among motorists on Twitter
- Media personality Ben Fordham shared a picture of the confusing signs
- The photo, taken on on Wednesday, shows six complex signs on a single pole
- The signs advises drivers when they can and can't park in the designated zones
- One driver decided to create a flowchart to make sense of the confusing signs
Australian media personality Ben Fordham has sparked a debate on social media after he struggled to decipher a set of parking signs spotted on a Sydney street.
The 2GB radio host shared a picture of the confusing signs on Instagram after spotting them while attempting to park in the city centre on Wednesday.
The photograph, believed to be taken on Pitt Street in Haymarket, shows six complex signs on a single pole advising drivers when they can and can't park in the designated zones - and for how long.
Channel Nine TV presenter Ben Fordham has sparked a debate on social media after he struggled to decipher a set of parking signs (pictured) spotted on a Sydney street
The 2GB radio host was left confused after he stumbled across the confusing parking signs
Sydney father Bruno Bouchet decided to create an elaborate flowchart (pictured) to give drivers a better understanding on how to read the confusing signs
A City of Sydney spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the Transport for NSW had installed the following signs: Special Event Clearway sign for Mardi Gras this weekend; No Stopping sign as part of the Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement Plan; and Tow Away sign as part of its plan to keep traffic moving.
'The City installed the Loading Zone sign to allow delivery vehicles to load and unload during business hours and the 4P sign to allow general parking at night and on weekends,' the spokesperson said.
After shedding light on the six signs, the City spokesperson said: 'The City of Sydney agrees there is a better way to inform drivers about parking restrictions on Sydney's streets. The City has long been lobbying the state government to introduce kerbside line markings – as used in many cities around the world – to reduce the clutter and confusion that multiple signs create.
'To simplify on-street parking signs, the City of Sydney needs the support of Transport for NSW.'
However, after years of lobbying, Transport for NSW declined to take up the City's recommendations.
After spotting Fordham's post, Sydney father Bruno Bouchet decided to create an elaborate flowchart to give drivers a better understanding on how to read the confusing signs.
'My mate Ben found the following Sydney CBD streets signs difficult to understand. Not sure why. Anyway - here's a super simple guide to understanding whether you can park there or not,' Bouchet tweeted, along with his graph.
Share this article
Many Australians were left scratching their heads when they saw the complex street signs
Despite creating his flowchart, Bouchet admitted he still didn't understand the complex signs
In August 2018, Sydney journalist Dean Nye tweeted a picture of multiple signs he spotted in Leichhardt. He described the signs as 'the most confusing thing I've ever seen'
Full statement from City of Sydney
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, a City of Sydney spokesperson said:
The City of Sydney agrees there is a better way to inform drivers about parking restrictions on Sydney's streets.
The City has long been lobbying the state government to introduce kerbside line markings – as used in many cities around the world – to reduce the clutter and confusion that multiple signs create.
To simplify on-street parking signs, the City of Sydney needs the support of Transport for NSW.
Following a Council resolution, the City wrote to Transport for NSW in 2016 seeking support to implement a range of options, including:
- Investigate the potential to use linemarking to represent No Parking restrictions – an option that has been used successfully in the UK
- For dual parking restrictions on the same plate (for example 2P/4P), remove the need to have separate arrows for each restriction if the restriction applies in the same direction
- Consider innovative options, such as electronic parking signs and New York-style graphic arrangements that could be developed collaboratively by RMS and the City and trialled on the City's streets.
Unfortunately, Transport for NSW declined to take up the City's recommendations.
The City of Sydney has long been lobbying the state government to simplify on-street parking signs - but to no avail
The City is continually working to reduce visual clutter across the city and improve the design and placement of necessary signs in the public domain.
More than 2,000 signs have been removed from city streets to reduce the visual pollution since 2004.
The City actively aims to simplify signs wherever possible when installing new parking restrictions, including using existing infrastructure such as light poles and traffic signal posts instead of installing dedicated parking stems.
From the sign, Transport for NSW installed the following signs:
- Special Event Clearway sign for Mardi Gras this weekend;
- No Stopping sign as part of the Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement Plan; and
- Tow Away sign as part of its plan to keep traffic moving
The City installed the Loading Zone sign to allow delivery vehicles to load and unload during business hours and the 4P sign to allow general parking at night and on weekends.
Other Australians were left scratching their heads when they saw the complex street signs emerged on Twitter.
'You need a degree to understand those parking signs,' Lainey tweeted.
Alan said: 'The sign is so laden with mind-numbing instruction, it's about to tear away from the pole under its own weight.'
Silks said: 'I've done a law degree and still have no hope with a Surry Hills parking sign.'
Fiby said: 'Gotta love the city of Sydney.'
And Annette added: 'These signs are for real!! They do your head in.'
In August 2018, Sydney journalist Dean Nye tweeted a picture of multiple signs he spotted in Leichhardt, along with the comment: 'Sydney take a chill pill'.
Nye told 2GB at the time the signs were 'the most confusing thing I've ever seen'.
'I just don't understand how people during the week, in peak hour, how they're meant to read that really quickly,' Nye told Fordham.
'These signs should be easily digestible and that certainly wasn't.'
Most watched News videos
- British tourists fight with each other in a Majorcan tourist resort
- Brawl after thug steals man's neck chain at Piccadilly Circus
- King Charles unveils first official portrait since Coronation
- Moment British tourists scatter loved-one's ashes into sea in Turkey
- Boy mistakenly electrocutes his genitals in social media stunt
- 'Reuniting the right': Rees-Mogg calls for Reform UK to join tories
- Youths shout abuse at local after warnings to avoid crumbling dunes
- Terrifying moment people take cover in bus during prison van attack
- Emergency services on scene after gunmen ambush prison van in France
- Fighter jet bounces off runway after low-altitude triple barrel-roll
- Sun coronal mass ejections leading up to last week's solar storm
- Police cordon off Stamford Hill area after a woman was shot
