Penrith deputy mayor says ‘people are fighting in the street’ over crowded suburb’s parking issues

People are ‘fighting in the street’ over parking in a crowded suburb and Penrith’s deputy mayor has called for an urgent action plan.

Penrith Deputy Mayor Tricia Hitchen talks to resident Kay Hearne in October about issues caused by over-development, such as road congestion and overflowing rubbish bins. Picture:

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THE parking saga in Oxley Park is out of control.

The hot topic has again been raised at a Penrith Council meeting, with Deputy Mayor Tricia Hitchen calling for urgent action on Monday night.

Cr Hitchen said she had been inundated with complaints from residents who could not get out of their driveway “because parents are parking them in to take their kids to school”.

“People are fighting in the street,” Cr Hitchen told the meeting.

Two cars cannot drive down Oxley Park streets due to the amount of parked cars on the road.

Mayor John Thain was quick to back Cr Hitchen’s claims, saying he had recently driven down the area’s narrow and overpopulated streets.

“It’s pretty much a disaster (in there),” Cr Thain said.

Adelaide St is at the forefront of Cr Hitchen’s plan to take swift action.

She told The Standard the street’s residents bore the brunt of the small suburb's congestion as the road provided access to Oxley Park Public School.

Oxley Park public school traffic and parking problems, parents are parking in the cemetery and blocking people going to funerals etc.

The Deputy Mayor said she understood residents’ anger and wanted to provide them some temporary relief.

“It would be so frustrating to try and go to work in the morning and have someone parked across your driveway,” she said.

“I am hoping we can put in some marked parking bays — so that they (parents and other users) maximise the use of parking in the street — and hatch out some driveways so people can’t park across them.

“If the plan works, I want to continue that in Brisbane St where there is also no parking; It doesn’t do much but it’s a start.”

Resident Kay Hearne told The Standard last year the streets were unsafe due to so many cars parking illegally in the congested Oxley Park streets, as a result of overdevelopment. Picture: David Swift

Finding a car space before and after school has been an ongoing problem in Oxley Park.

In 2015, mourners lodged complaints to the council as they were unable to park in St Marys General Cemetery due to parents using the spots instead of parking on the road.

Cr Hitchen, who has been working with Oxley Park residents to tackle some of the area’s issues since she was elected, said the council was willing to help alleviate the parking dilemma.

“I have been told that council will start community consultation shortly,” she said.

Latest CoreLogic figures reveal there is a population of 2923 in Oxley Park.

Parents were asked not to park in the adjoining cemetery parking in 2015. Picture: Peter Kelly