By ALANA MITCHELSON
CARDINIA Shire Council is calling on ideas from residents to improve car parking in Beaconsfield.
The council is seeking feedback on the Beaconsfield Car Parking Precinct Plan draft’s 42 recommendations to guide parking management and support the town centre’s development.
The recommendations include a proposal to establish agreements with private car park owners, improve the design of parking facilities, audit car parking signage, apply consistent car parking signage and time periods, work with locals schools to minimise the impacts of traffic and parking problems and lobby government authorities to expand parking near the train station.
Beaconsfield traders recently launched a petition to lobby for parking limits along the Old Princes Highway to be lowered from two hours to 30 minutes to improve business and ease congestion.
Residents have also voiced their concerns to the Gazette about the limited parking spaces at Beaconsfield train station causing excess parking traffic to clog the adjacent streets.
This came shortly after the release of the state budget this year which included 110 additional parking spaces at the Berwick train station but none for Beaconsfield.
Cardinia Mayor Jodie Owen said the plan considered 2873 car parking spaces, both on private property and council-managed roadside parking.
“I encourage anyone who regularly parks in Beaconsfield to review the plan and provide their feedback.
“We need to hear from the people who are on the ground regularly in Beaconsfield,” Ms Owen said.
“We know that we don’t need more car parks in the town centre but it can be better managed to ensure there is access to spaces, people with disability get priority and people can consider other means of transport.”
Residents were invited to a drop-in information session from 3.30pm to 8pm on Tuesday 12 July at the Beaconsfield Neighbourhood Centre.
The plan and submission forms can be viewed on the council website or in hard copy form at Cardinia Shire Council’s Civic Centre or Beaconsfield Community Centre.
Submissions can be emailed to mail@cardinia.vic.gov.au or posted to Beaconsfield Car Parking, Cardinia Shire Council, PO BOX 7, Pakenham, 3810, by Friday 29 July.
