Tradies accused of taking up commuter parking at Box Hill station

TRADIES working in Melbourne’s booming east are hogging scarce railway station parking spots, leaving commuters frustrated.

Parking is scarce at Box Hill train station, with tradies taking up valuable spaces.

COMMUTERS are losing out on scarce carparking spaces at Box Hill Railway Station due to tradies hogging spots while working on the area’s many construction sites.

Box Hill state Liberal MP Robert Clark said he was receiving complaints from people who were finding the busy station carpark full of tradies’ vans and utes.

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This has been an ongoing problem for booming Box Hill, with the State Government even conducting a six-month trial last year to fine motorists who could not prove they had used public transport.

During the trial, 61 people were fined $91 for parking at the station and not using the train. Inspectors were empowered to ask drivers to produce a valid Myki card to show it had been used that day.

Mr Clark said the State Government needed to find a solution to the problem.

“The State Government needs to make sure the parking rules are obeyed, so parking set aside for commuters is available for commuters,” he said.

“Instead of just quietly axing the enforcement trial, the Government should either have continued it or found other solutions.”

Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources transport and emergency communications manager Adrian Darwent said the Government was still determining the best way to ensure carparks were left for commuters.

But there are no plans for further enforcement activities at Box Hill.

Eastern Metropolitan Region state Labor MP Shaun Leane said the Box Hill Interchange advisory group would present its report, which will include station parking changes, by the end of the year.