Paid parking may be introduced in residential areas of Sunshine.
With Albion, St Albans and Sunshine train station carparks “at or beyond capacity”, consultants have urged Brimbank council to introduce permit zones around Sunshine town centre “to reduce the reliance on car travel”.
A new multi-deck carpark at Sunshine, set to open in August, “may shift some of the long-term demand into these residential areas, as there may be users that are unwilling to pay but willing to walk,” GTA consultants also advised the council.
The consultants told the council in 2013 that permit parking would “generate an ongoing source of revenue” that could be used to pay for more public car parking.
“The introduction of fee parking should be considered,” GTA recommended at the time. “Permit zone parking restrictions [could] be implemented along residential streets in the vicinity of the activity centre as part of the introduction of fee parking.”
On Tuesday, the council approved its new parking strategy which found occupancy rates at Sunshine and Albion stations were 91 and 99 per cent respectively.
“Almost all available car parking associated with both railway stations is currently at or beyond capacity,” the strategy notes.
Some areas of St Albans, including Alfreida Street (89 per cent) and Errington Reserve and St Albans train station (88 per cent), are also at or beyond capacity targets of 85 per cent.
“It is unreasonable to rely upon the available public parking … to support future development,” GTA said.
Council’s city development director, Stuart Menzies, said paid parking in Sunshine was just one of a number of options on the table, and would need careful assessment and consultation.
