Despite a critical shortage of parking spaces to cater for a growing number of commuters using South Morang railway station, Public Transport and Roads Minister Terry Mulder last week confirmed the state government has no plans to extend parking at the station.
The admission comes in response to a letter federal McEwen MP Rob Mitchell sent to the minister on behalf of South Morang resident Michael Benfari.
Mr Benfari, 41, recently travelled by train to attend a conference in the city. When he arrived at South Morang station at 7.15am he was unable to find a parking spot and parked at nearby Westfield Plenty Valley shopping centre.
On his return, he found a parking infringement notice on his windscreen.
He called Whittlesea council’s local laws department asking for his infringement to be revoked on the grounds that he was left with no other parking alternatives as the train station’s car park was full.
Despite the council representative apologising and admitting this was indeed the case, the fine was not overturned.
In his letter, Mr Mitchell asked Mr Mulder to address the lack of parking at the station given that the government has ruled out extending the rail line to Mernda.
In reply, Mr Mulder wrote that “the station connects with the bus interchange and a shared bike path which, along with timetable reviews to improve co-ordination and bike storage facilities, were provided to increase opportunities for commuters to walk, ride or [take a] bus to the station.”
He said he had raised the matter with Public Transport Victoria, which would continue to monitor the effectiveness of local bus routes connecting to South Morang and consider further improvements if required.
Mr Mitchell said the state government was completely ignoring the fact that South Morang was one of the fastest-growing communities in the country. “Our facilities need to reflect that growth, yet there has been no investment from the state government over the past three years,” he said.
Whittlesea mayor Mary Lalios said the council understood there were issues with parking capacity at South Morang station.
‘‘The real solution is for the state government to extend the rail line to Mernda.
“South Morang, Mernda and Doreen are the fastest-growing areas in Australia and they need access to train services.
‘‘Unless the rail line is extended car parking issues won’t go away.
“Commuters will continue to be forced into their cars and go through the daily battle to find a parking space in already- at-capacity car parks at existing stations.’’
The council was unable to provide comment by deadline.
