By Mitchell Clarke
Councillor Brett Owen says extra car parks aren’t the only issue surrounding Beaconsfield station, with improved public transport links also on the agenda.
Beaconsfield has become a popular train station for residents across neighbouring suburbs including Casey, Berwick South and Clyde North, causing increased congestion and ultimately, a lack of car parks.
Councillor Brett Owen is calling on the State Government to assist our residents in providing more car parks.
“This continues to be a live issue. If you’re not at the (Beaconsfield railway) station by 7am, there are no spaces,” said Cr. Owen.
“It has adverse impact on residents, so we would like the State Government to assist our residents in providing more car parks.”
A study undertaken by Cardinia Council found that the station car park is at or near capacity from 7am to 6pm with local roads near the station following a similar pattern for on-street parking occupancy, suggesting the result of overflow from the current parking situation at Beaconsfield.
The study also identified that there is suitable VicTrack land available for the purpose of increased car parks, providing an opportunity to also increase disabled parking, which was found to be occupied for the duration of the day.
Councillor Jeff Springfield claims this is an ongoing issue across many train stations in the area, after the planning wasn’t thought out when it came to building the car parks years ago.
“There were really no forward projections that this was going to be overly utilised,” he said.
“And it should be, you’re no good going on the Monash if you’re trying to get to the city in peak hour, everything’s jammed up.”
“This is one little piece of the puzzle, we need greater solutions to moving people around to the areas they need to be,” he said.
Cr. Owen claims an ideal situation would see an improved transport link, allowing residents to walk to a bus stop to be directly taken to a train station.
Cardinia Shire Council CEO Carol Jeffs has sent advocacy letters to relevant Ministers and residents.
In the meantime, Cardinia Council will maintain the existing signage and parking restrictions while they work alongside the State Government to provide an effective long-term solution.
