Backlash over Parramatta Council car parking strategy

Politicians and business leaders have all held up a giant ‘STOP’ sign in front of Parramatta Council’s car parking strategy, calling for a decision to be left for a democratically-elected council.

The strategy aims to discourage motorists from driving into the Parramatta CBD.

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Politicians and business leaders have all held up a giant ‘STOP’ sign in front of Parramatta Council’s car parking strategy, calling for a decision to be left for a democratically-elected council, not an administrator.

Newly-elected president of the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, David Hill, said the council should wait until after councillors are elected in September to progress with the plan to force cars out of the city.

The council plans to introduce tough new measures including closing public car parks and making parking more expensive to encourage more people to leave the car at home.

Jonh Chedid and Geoff Lee are concerned about plans to shut Horwood Place Carpark.

“This council, it’s just a bunch of bureaucrats and those bureaucrats are making decisions about the future of this city and they shouldn’t be. They should be made by elected officials,” Mr Hill said.

He said the plan was impratical and would hurt local businesses.

“They should be supporting the existing businesses of Parramatta. We need people to be able to park their cars when they go to the dentist, doctor, when they go to buy a wedding dress,” he said.

“People who work here also need to have somewhere to park their cars. At the moment, there is only one major train route into Parramatta. It is not like Sydney, it is not like London, it’s not like Beijing where you have 100 different train stops. We have one train stop which is already at capacity.”

Parramatta state Liberal MP Geoff Lee also disagreed with most of the council’s future parking recommendations, including regulating for fewer car spaces in new residential developments, pushing people to walk, cycle or catch public transport.

The council also plans to raise the fees in its carparks.

“It’s important to recognise the majority of people in western Sydney rely on cars to commute and increased densification of our city is also increasing the need for on and off-street parking,” Mr Lee said.

“To cater for demand and provide choice new commercial developments should incorporate underground parking.”

Former Parramatta mayor John Chedid said he was “shell-shocked” by the council’s recomendations.

He said he would not support closing down carparks in a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the CBD.

“We can’t have any further reduction in parking in the Parramatta CBD. Parking is already at a premium,” he said.

“Wouldn’t we rather step on a bus, ferry or train? Yes, but we don’t because they don’t always go where we need them to. And I have yet to see the community ask for this change to parking.”

He said it made little sense until a much more extensive rail system was built.