Exclusive resident-only parking zones around some of Hume’s busiest train stations could be wound back under a plan to address parking shortages.
Hume council’s draft parking restrictions policy is proposing to replace the residential permit zones at Craigieburn and Coolaroo stations and Broadmeadows Hospital with restrictions that allow others to park on residential streets.
The council will conduct parking surveys in the streets surrounding the stations and the hospital to determine parking occupancy during business hours.
If occupancy in these areas is found to be 50 per cent or lower, the council will consider easing the parking restrictions and allowing non-residents to park on some sections of the road.
The policy was created after Cr Carly Moore asked council officers last August to analyse whether the permit restrictions in the streets surrounding Craigieburn train stations were still appropriate.
A report to last week’s council meeting said that recent observations found that residential permit zones were generally not used during business hours.
“The exclusive allocation of parking to residents causes difficulty for the broader community as they cannot make use of available public road space to access major facilities such as Craigieburn and Coolaroo railway stations,” the report stated.
“When all the railway station carparks are full, motorists are forced to park their vehicles in surrounding residential streets, at times up to one kilometre or more from the railway station.
“The exclusive permit zones also present problems for residents. For example, the number of visitors they can have at any given time is limited as visitors must all display a visitor permit to park on the street.”
The council said it would not make any changes to current parking restrictions without first consulting with property owners and occupiers.
