Saving Moore Park community group slam Minns government backflip on grass parking
An eastern suburbs community group has slammed the government’s backflip on grass parking at Moore Park, with thousands of parking spots to remain until a new carpark is complete.
Wentworth Courier
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An eastern suburbs community group has slammed the Labor Government’s backflip on parking on the grass at Moore Park, with thousands of parking spots to remain until a new carpark is constructed.
Saving Moore Park co-president Vivienne Skinner said she was “extremely disappointed” in the state government’s about face on plans to ban parking on the grass from the end of this year.
Ms Skinner – whose group has advocated for the return of the green space to the community since 2015 – slammed the decision as “retrograde” and claimed it ran “contrary to the NSW Government’s own Green Travel Plan” as well as a masterplan to transform the area with new walkways, picnic areas, natural play spaces and community sports fields.
The Moore Park precinct includes Allianz Stadium and entertainment precinct the Entertainment Quarter along with the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Figures from the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust show more than 100,000 people used the on-grass parking every year before the Covid pandemic.
However, government legislation passed in 2022 was set to make it an offence to park on the grass from the end of this year, in-line with commitments to remove parking from grassed areas of the park by 2025.
In a surprise reversal on Tuesday NSW premier Chris Minns announced the ban would be deferred until 2026 to ensure parking space would be available to “people who travel from western Sydney or around the state for sports and entertainment at Moore Park”.
“It doesn’t make sense to shut off access to thousands of parking spaces before the new carpark is complete,” Mr Minns said.
The draft legislation was approved by cabinet on Monday.
A submission to a parliamentary inquiry last year by the Alliance of Moore Parks Sports -representing teams including Sydney FC, the Sydney Roosters, and the Sydney Swans – said it was “crucially important” to keep parking spaces available.
Venues NSW estimated that removing the parking spaces before any alternatives were built would have cost the state $30m in lost visitor revenue across 66 event days per year.
However Ms Skinner argued the precinct’s “packed stadiums” during the FIFA World Cup earlier this year, when the public was not able to park on the grasslands, showed patrons were able to use transport alternatives.
“The light rail network with a dedicated Moore Park station, hundreds of available spots at nearby at Randwick Racecourse and at EQ, Sydney Boys and Girls high schools, provide ample options for patrons to reach the precinct,” she said.
Ms Skinner said the group were calling on the government to reconsider and reverse the decision.
“Extensive surveys of our supporters and the wider community confirm overwhelming support for the removal of carparking and the rebuilding of Moore Park into a magnificent green space,” she said.
“Moore Park is a park, not a parking lot.”
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