Not sure about other states, But here in vic bikes are aloud to park on footpaths.

a mate and i went for aride around the bay today, as we were leaving st kilda his wife asked to grab some bread, We popped into his local supermarket and parked near the front door, 3 guys come up to us and started trouting off, you can't park hear ect ect , As i explain the law to this dip shit he goes on and on, I razed my voice a little cos this idiot just fucked up my day, I told him to shut up and call the cops, His m8 comes over and says im going to take a photo of your number plate, So i got into his face, You know the rest......any how the manager comes over and said , the only problem i have is kids touching the exhaust, fine ill stay here to make sure kids dont touch. All is fine until his m8 comes back trouting off again, i had my 10 yr old girl with me so i was trying to be on my best behaviour , Then the m8 and another bloke shows up troutin off, That was it ........I went off my 3kz, my poor girl was so scared i made her go into the shopping centre, cops came and explained to them that we were in the right, They 2 guys with others tried to have me charged with making threats.......WTF...... Cop just told me to get on my way, But i couldnt believe they were listening to these guys......anyone cop they same shit with parking on footpaths.

Faarrking big Mouths shit me to - I bet he doesn't do it again.

I had been booked in Fitzroy for parking on the footpath, booked for being too close to a driveway/ entrance was the official reason... didnt think that was an issue at the distance my bike was from their loading dock, but I think the restaurant owner was sick of me parking out front (even though I lived above them!). 

Solution - took a photo that had the date and time (with bike still in the same spot - at least 5m from driveway on the footpath - parking ticket still attached to handlebars).

Sent this off to the appropriate authorities, along with the photocopied relevant section of the parking law... fine dropped. From then on (had been a string of parking fines for same reason) I had a copy of the parking laws stuck to my handlebars for anyone interested!!! 

How can a parking cop/ regular cop argue with an direct copy of the law he MUST follow?

I have another mate that had the parking laws put onto business cards, so whenever anyone would challenge him, he would pass them a business card without saying a word.

SJ

I had a guy once who got out of his car a went off like a loony at me, to make it worse I just kept laughing because he seemed so insane. When I told him to bugger off because I'm allowed to park there because it don't block the pedestrians he started walking around my bike as fast as he could - now that normal behavior right? He said it wasn't his fault of he knocked my bike over and I told him it wouldn't be my fault if he followed the bike to the ground. He told me if I touched him he'd call the cops and I told him he might be able to call them, but he wouldn't be able to speak without his teeth.
IF I'd be thinking clearly I wouldn't have watched what I said since I'm sure the shit would have hit the fan if he called the cops. As it was he mustn't have realized and when I rode off and rounded the corner into the main street (no way to watch my bike if he came back) I saw him red faced, seemingly just finished yelling at the parking meter man - and the parking meter main was pointing his finger at the guys face and was obviously telling the nutter to sod off. I decided not to toot the horn in case he got my number

Hell of a lot of nuts out there that think they know the rules better than everyone else,

Bloody do gooders

I once had a brown bomber ask me to move my bike from a car park to a bike park 2 spots down. bit harsh.....

What's the law in QLD? I've parked on the footpath before but not knowing.. Bike shops park their bikes on the footpath...

Never really new the rules covered all of Victoria. Here's a nice little booklet :

www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/B206BFE3-EFE9-4726-B665-FBC0843E7525/0/TR2001102.pdf

not in wa ,police nanny state.

Yeah speedzter, thats one of the booklets i used to hand to people. Nice find! 

Never had a problem

Just be aware you are supposed to "walk" your bike onto the footpaths...not ride *cough*

 

May I share a view from the 'do gooder' side?

I work in the Centre Management of a large-ish Shopping Centre in Brisbane and public/customer safety is part of my daily responsibilities (and no, I'm not a Security Guard). Increasingly over the past decade or so the greater Aussie public has followed the American trend toward litigation whenever an accident occurs on public and private properties as in, "I'm gunna sue your arse!!" (because I fell over in your carpark/mall/shop/footpath blah f*ckin' blah). 

At my Centre I noticed many bikes parking on the footpaths and in particular the busy main entry paved area next to the Taxi Rank and the bicycle racks (and directly opposite the Parents with Prams & Disabled parking bays). These areas are not real wide, particularly the footpaths, and the risk of people and little kids scalding themselves on pipes & engines is a real possibility. It's a bustling place.

So, being a bike loving, safety concious and pro-active sort of a bloke I modified several carparking bays for 'motorcycles only'. A sign on a pole, similar signage on the ground, two steel bollards to keep the cages out and TA DAH! A set of bike park bays at each of the three main entry doors to the Shopping Centre. Each bay holds up to five bikes. Too easy - exclusive parking for the wild at heart; but not every Centre is blessed with me...

On occasion me or the Guards approach Riders who've parked on the footpaths and advise we have bike bays and would they mind parking there. We explain it's first & foremost a safety issue.

And that's the truth, coz litigation against Shopping Centres works something like this - it's known as 'the shotgun effect':

Customer burns leg on bike; customer notes bike rego and reports same to me. I must then complete an incident report noting all relevant details including photos and any CCTV footage.  Customer is cranky at me for allowing motorbikes on footpath and promises to sue me and the Shopping Centre and the Owners of the Centre. Why? Primarily because they've seen it multiple times on 'Current Affair' type shows.

Customer then approaches an 'Ambulance Chaser' type Solicitor and Solicitor in turn sends a letter to all parties mentioned, including the Rider they tracked via the rego details. 'Shotgun' refers to the blast spraying over many people - there's a good chance they'll hit someone... Customer is chasing compensation and be assured someone will have to pay up.

The Shopping Centre will engage their own Solicitor and point out all efforts made to dissuade motorcycle parking on FOOTPATHS (they're called FOOT paths for a reason).  

I see and hear this crap all the time. You may believe it's OK and lawful in your State, but that's a point you'll need defend. And all parties will need Solicitors - and that will cost time and money. And Solicitors are cunning bastards and SOMEONE will have to pay. Sorry this post is a bit wordy but your chances of fighting this in Court is pretty high.

Seriously, I appreciate your points of view & understand why you park there, but you're not guaranteed a win on this issue - just sayin'...

 

Typical fucking Australia...everyone's a cop. Dont do this dont do that, the old head shake in the mirror of you lane split. Fuck off I say. Im sick of the nanny state. Im responsoble for my actions and accountable for them too. If you dont like what IM doing then fuck off I'll be accountable for it if Im in the wrong. People really should mind their own fucking business.

Got to admit I first thought it was strange when visiting St Kilda
seeing bikes on the footpath but fair enough if thats what the law states - great.
As Softail steve mentioned, riders are generally booked in NSW - unless its under a building alignment
and the Building manager doesnt have a problem.
The city of Sydney put out a paper which I was written by a "newly migrated" public servant
who just got promoted from announcing trains at Town Hall Station.
I found it confusing. what I did understand is that motorcycle riders can park in any parking spot
not worrying about the metre. But must comply with time shown allowed.
I dont park on footpaths - just out of respect, but you get some dudes that make a habit
of parking on the prominade at Bondi Beach. They do attrack attention - as well as that of the local cops
who fine them for the breach and organise an accompaning letter in the mail to take their bikes to the EPA to check their exhaust DB
sorry for rambling
Stoney Toney

Forgot why I started writing !

Good on you Finny.............wish i was there !

 cheers m8 

 Dicey, could not have said it better my self. AMEN

 

Yeah, it's a bugger. I agree with your frustration on the 'Nanny State' bullshit into which we're plunging headlong. Apparently I'm not allowed to work from a ladder over a height of (I think) 1.8m anymore. OH&S says so. So pissy little tasks like changing lightbulbs has become a massive exercise requiring a 'stable working platform' or a scissor lift machine! But that's another whinge for some other time...

Here in Qld the Brisbane City Council now allow bikes to park on some inner City footpaths (designated areas) in an effort to reduce the parking hassles and overcrowding caused by cars. The Council are responsible for those areas and 'the Law' now allows limited bike parking. But, this 'Law' would not completely exonnerate Council if an injury occurred.

Unfortunately 'the Law says so' is not the cut and dried defence you might expect. There are clever people (or cunning bastards?) out there whose job it is to twist and manipulate the wording and intent of the Law.

A smart Solicitor could argue little children cannot read warning signs and it is in their nature to touch shiny things (chrome exhausts) and "It is indeed unfortunate your Honour, the Parents were distracted at that moment. But little Britney may well carry this disfigurement for the rest of her life..." blah de f*ckin' blah and on it goes - this clouds the issue and that shotgun effect will ensure someone will have to pay up. Many will be aimed at and some, maybe all parties, will cop a hit. And somewhere in OZ similar crap happens every day! 

If I understand Finny correctly, bikes can park on footpaths throughout Victoria? But, does the Law allow for the difference between public and private property in relation to the footpath bike parking? I think people forget Shopping Centres are private property and not public property.

Our Centre, and probably every other Shopping Centre, has a sign at the property entrances - the 'disclaimer notice' - similar to those signs at motorsport venues. Ya know, 'you enter at your own risk' etc.

But as I mentioned earlier, if someone hurts themselves they still come to my office to lodge their grievance (en-route to a Solicitor). That disclaimer notice has limited value in this day and age. In a Shopping Centre the 'designated parking' areas are the parking bays where road registered vehicles are required to park. Footpaths are for foot traffic and everyone knows that.

I ride bikes too and having them nearby makes it easier to keep an eye on - I get that. But all I'm saying is any Citizen (with a Solicitor) can attempt to sue you for injuries received as a direct result of your bike having injured them. 'The Law' won't necessarily protect you; good luck with that.

 

Not allowed in the NT.
Example. Local and an interstae rider went to the Parap markets and parked on the foot path. Both receieved tickes,but the interstate rider was advised by the brown bomber to go to the council office and the ticket will be cancelled due to the fact that the state he lives in allows parking on footpath.

I also work in large facilty where parking is at a premium. We have quite a few employees who ride and most of us utilise a covered out of the way area that is very close to an entrance. The ony down fall with this spot is it is dirt. One year I asked to have concrete laid and was quiet stunned when senior management said no we do not like you lot parking there and that we are going to block it off. I ended up threatening to personally get every rider to use a whole parking bay per bike each day thus reducing the already limited amount of parking available. This did the trick and we are still parking in the same spot in the dirt LOL.
They did give us two carparks, painted nice words and lines all over them but did not block them off as it costs them too much money when cars dive into the poles. Last car to do it was a mercedes who actually tried to drive between the poles to park RATFLMAO

 

Here in NSW, I park my ride lawfully where I can.

However, if I can't find a park near where I am going.

Then I (unlawfully) put it on the footpath in the best respectful position.

Otherwise, I spit my dummy and go home