Residents seek upgrade at Carseldine park ‘n’ ride

The State Government is being petitioned to increase parking around a north Brisbane train station to stop congestion in neighbouring residential streets.

Cars parked along both sides of Balcara Ave, near the park 'n' ride facility at Carseldine train station. Picture: David Willoughby

THE State Government is being petitioned to increase parking around Carseldine train station to stop congestion in neighbouring residential streets.

David Willoughby lives near the station and said the carpark off Beams Rd, which has spaces for 210 cars, wasn’t big enough.

“The station is quite popular. You drive along Beams Rd and you’ll see cars parked along the side near the station,” he said.

Cars parked on the verge along Beams Rd outside the Carseldine park ‘n’ ride facility. Picture: David Willoughby

“The congestion continues along side streets such as Balcara Ave and Nilkerie St. Cars are parked on both sides of these streets.

“There’s a bus that goes through and if you’re driving in the opposite direction you have to be careful you don’t get sideswiped.”

Mr Willoughby said there were also issues with parked cars blocking bins placed on the footpath for council collection.

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“Some people just put their bins on the road,” he said.

“The other issue I’ve been told about is, with all the cars parked on our road for the train station, it makes it more difficult for people to reverse out of their driveways.”

A Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesman said they were investigating options to increase car park capacity of the Carseldine park ‘n’ ride.

“These options include upgrading the existing facility and potential alternative sites for expansion,” the spokesman said.

Rubbish bins placed on the road along Balcara Ave, Carseldine on collection day. Picture: David Willoughby

Mr Willoughby said he had hoped, with the Carseldine Urban Village being built nearby, there would be an expanded carpark on the opposite side of Beams Rd, where the oval is at the moment, “but there are no plans for that”.

“In the plans they have a traffic light coming out of the train station which will be another choke point.

“It would seem crazy to have boom gates and then two sets of traffic lights so close to each other without addressing the existing train station car park overflow.”

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Mr Willoughby said he made a submission about parking in July last year, and sent it to both Economic Development Queensland (developers of Carseldine Urban Village) and Brisbane City Council.

He has also signed an e-petition to the State Government which was started by Cr Amanda Cooper (Bracken Ridge). The petition has attractedmore than 440 signatures.

Cr Cooper said she had received a substantial number of complaints about lack of available commuter parking at Carseldine station over the past year.

Cars parked on the verge along Beams Rd, Carseldine near the train station. Picture: David Willoughby

“Surrounding streets are experiencing severe parking congestion which has made it difficult for residents to navigate the streets or reverse out of their driveway safely,” she said.

“There are also commuters who are unable to park safely and are often having to park long distances from the station, further adding to their commute.

“Traffic congestion will undoubtedly increase in local streets without adequate infrastructure upgrades.

“A thorough study of the current commuter parking and surrounding streets on both the Carseldine and Fitzgibbon side of the station should be undertaken to determine the current demand and accommodate for future growth.”

The petition calls for an expansion of the existing park n ride facility or the provision of an additional parking space. It closes on September 9 and is available at parliament.qld.gov.au under ‘Work of the Assembly’.

The State Government is currently upgrading park ‘n’ ride facilities at Geebung and Virginia stations, increasing the number of parks from 35 to 105 and from 20 to 70 respectively.