New parking limits set for Crows Nest, Wollstonecraft, Waverton after backlash from residents

New parking meters and timed restrictions will be rolled out across Crows Nest, Waverton and Wollstonecraft under plans to address demand for prized parking spaces in the suburbs.

The new measures include a permit scheme for residents.

Rangers will soon be on patrol to enforce more than 220 new parking restrictions on the north shore – sparking a mixed response from local residents and health workers.

North Sydney Council has moved forward with plans to create three new parking restriction zones in Crows Nest, Waverton and Wollstonecraft in a move to address the jostle between commuters, shoppers and residents.

The council said the measures would include a mix of timed limits and parking meters to “ration the demand” for spaces along with an expanded permit system for homeowners.

An overview of the restrictions in Crows Nest and Wollstonecraft.

The measures include new parking meters and timed restrictions.

The limits include introducing two hours limits on unrestricted parking spaces on Sinclair St in Wollstonecraft, and dropping two hour limits to one hour on Oxley St and Christie St.

But the plans, covering areas surrounding the Crows Nest town centre, north shore rail line and the Pacific Hwy, have drawn a mixed response in feedback from 614 residents.

Concerns over the measures included potential “disruptions” to family meals due to car owners having to shift their vehicles.

Other residents meanwhile supported the plans, with one Crows Nest homeowners saying: “I feel like I’ve won the lottery if I get to park in (my own) street”.

Parking meters such as these would be installed as part of the new measures.

A council spokeswoman said the limits were partly aimed at addressing the increase in residential and commercial developments in the local area.

“Residents and their visitors are experiencing difficulties in obtaining parking close to their property due to increased demand from commuters and other visitors to the area,” she said.

“Crows Nest and Wollstonecraft are experiencing growth from nearby developments, which place additional pressures on the finite parking resource.”

The council has scaled back plans for new parking meters in Wollstonecraft after feedback from Mater Hospital raised concerns over the impact on patients and health workers at the facility.

“Both patients and outpatients attend the hospital each and every day for lifesaving operations, treatment and therapy. Implementing these parking restrictions in the area will make driving to the hospital impossible to all who come here or who are under duress,” the hospital’s chief executive Heidi Bayliss said.

The council spokeswoman said the parking restrictions would be incorporated into existing “regular patrols by parking officers”.

Latest figures show the council issued 45,801 fines in the 12 months to September this year, generating $7.2 million in revenue.

Residents in support of the measures called for the council to implement strict “daily patrols” to ensure commuters are deterred from clogging local streets.

“It’s essential that traffic staff are given adequate time to cover their areas every day of the week to fulfil the set task,” one resident said.

“It will need to be policed as there is a lot of cheating going on.”

The restrictions have been recommended for approval at the council’s next traffic committee meeting.

The council said the measures would be brought back to a council meeting in early 2020 and if supported would take approximately “six to eight weeks to implement”.