Hobsons Bay and Wyndham residents are at odds over whether there should be more commuter parking at Aircraft train station in Laverton.
Point Cook resident Nicole Puttyfoot has started a petition calling for more parking at Williams Landing and Aircraft stations. It gained 500 signatures in a week.
Ms Puttyfoot said that by 7.30am, the car parks were full at both stations.
“The solution is simple: increase the number of car parks at train stations and it’ll take cars off the road,” she said. “Enough is enough.”
Laverton resident Sandra Horsburgh said Williams Landing carpark should be expanded so commuters from outside Hobsons Bay wouldn’t park at Aircraft station.
“The main issue I have is the fact that any extension of Aircraft carpark isn’t for people in Laverton – it’s for all the people who come in from all the outlying suburbs,” she said.
“Williams Landing is full. That means they haven’t planned it properly because we’ve still got people coming over from Williams Landing,” she said.
The case against more parking
Hobsons Bay councillor Colleen Gates said the council backed Laverton residents’ view that there should be no more commuter parking at Aircraft or Laverton stations.
“There is sufficient parking when you count the number of parking bays,” she said.
“We already have more than 1500 cars parking in Laverton on a daily basis, in a suburb of only 5000 people.
“Residents living in Point Cook or further beyond Hobsons Bay should be accessing their local train stations – either Williams Landing or the new stations attached to the Regional Rail Link.
“If there was to be any expansion of car parking, it should occur at Williams Landing station, which I understand has only 500 spaces – less than half that of Laverton and Aircraft combined.”
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the state government would be auditing landholdings near train stations across the state to identify areas that could be sealed and made available for free commuter parking.
with Adem Saban
