Parking will be at a premium for residents of three St Albans streets if Brimbank council goes ahead with plans to restrict parking near Keilor Plains train station.
The council circulated letters to Jane Avenue, Rafter Drive and Roche Street residents about its proposal to install two-hour parking between 9am and 6pm on weekdays in response to parking congestion in the area.
Restrictions are flagged for the south side of Rafter Drive (between Newcombe Drive and Regan Street), the north and east sides of Jane Avenue (between Newcombe and Rafter drives), and the south side of Roche Street (between Newcombe Drive and Jane Avenue).
Newcombe Drive resident Laura Rovetto said the restrictions would force residents to vie for the same parking spots as train commuters using Keilor Plains station.
“The onus, therefore, is being thrust upon the residents to deal with the railway parking problem,” she said.
She said despite the area’s cultural diversity, the letters had only been printed in English.
“Was that deliberate?” she said. “If they really want to speak to residents, they know the demographic – they’d have it printed in three languages.”
Council’s infrastructure and city services director Neil Whiteside said the proposal stems from the concerns of residents about congestion in their streets and their access to driveways.
“The restrictions … address the ongoing issues with train commuters parking on both sides of these streets, impeding traffic flow and causing congestion,” he said.
“The proposed parking restrictions will discourage train commuters from parking on one side of the road, but still allow some flexibility for residents and their visitors to park in the street.”
Affected residents have been invited to provide feedback on the proposal before Friday, December 23.
If most are in favour, the council will go ahead with its plan.
In April, the state government announced it would add 220 parking spaces to the Keilor Plains train station’s carpark.
