Steve Beardon is advocating for parking permits at Lynbrook railway station for locals. 75601 Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Emma Sun
A LYNBROOK resident is campaigning for parking permits near Lynbrook train station, so locals don’t have to fight others for spots.
Steve Beardon said local residents have lobbied for a station for years, so it should only be fair that the station be accessible for those who live in the area once it opens.
“We need a permit system for the car parks at Lynbrook station to allow only locals to park there,” he said.
“Lyndhurst, Lynbrook and Lynbrook Heights residents need to be given priority. Why should locals who live here, who lobbied for the station and paid a premium to live in our beautiful suburb not be given priority access to the station?”
Mr Beardon said he was worried that when the station opened, people will park on the nearby streets, which will cause problems for the residents who live on those streets.
“People will park kilometres down the station if this car park is not monitored, so the bin guy won’t even be able to empty the bins because other people park in the streets.”
He said while it was a little inconvenient to start off with, acting out now would ensure the residents of Lynbrook were not disadvantaged in the future.
However, Scott Watson from the Lynbrook Residents Association, said while the idea was good, it was still too early to say whether there would be a need for permits.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea, and I don’t necessarily disagree with it, but I think it’s probably worth seeing what the issues are once it opens and maybe revisit it in 12 months time,” he said.
“There’s going to be a percentage of people in Lynbrook who would probably walk to the station and a lot are within 10 minutes walk of both Lynbrook and Lyndhurst stations.”
He said the new station would also ease congestion at the nearby Hallam and Merinda Park stations, which will give residents from further away other parking options.
He acknowledged that people parking in the nearby streets might be an issue, and agreed that it might be a good idea to put up restrictions once the station opens.
“We will put it to our membership, and if they think it’s an issue, we will approach the appropriate parties with respect to a resolution.”
City of Casey Mayfield Ward Councillor Amanda Stapledon said while the train station car parks were State Government territory, she would do her best to assist residents with any problems they had.
“As the councillor for the Lynbrook/Lyndhurst area, I can and will advocate for resident should they experience problems with car parking once the station is opened.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said they currently had no plans to introduce a permit system.
“The car park will be open to all commuters, residents and non-residents alike,” she said.
Lynbrook railway station is expected to open later this year or early next year.
