Prahran traffic congestion driving residents around the bend

PRAHRAN residents are taking a stand against overdevelopment and congested traffic in their once peaceful streets.

Liana Slipetsky with Peter Hart (centre) and Matt Beg want Stonnington Council to crack down on vehicles using Murray St, Prahran, as a rat run and spot for all day parking. Picture: Wayne Taylor

PRAHRAN residents are taking a stand against overdevelopment and congested traffic in their once peaceful streets.

Murray St resident Liana Slipetsky said she was sick of cars and trucks using her street and nearby Bendigo and York streets as a rat run to avoid heavy traffic on Williams Rd, and she was concerned the amenity of the area was under threat from apartments and multi-unit developments.

Requests to Stonnington Council for tougher parking restrictions and a requirement that service vehicles conduct maintenance works on the abutting Victoria Gardens during business hours rather than in the early morning or late at night, had fallen on deaf ears, she said. And a list of residents’ concerns handed to the council had been ignored.

“I’m all for growth, but the infrastructure needs to keep up,” she said. “How, as residents, are you supposed to enjoy the area you bought into?”

Stonnington chief executive Warren Roberts said a 9m height limit was in place for developments in and around Murray St, and left turn restrictions had been introduced between 7am and 9am to tackle motorists using it as a rat run. He said permit zones had been implemented on the north side of the street to tackle parking problems, and works at Victoria Gardens were scheduled in accordance with the council’s local law.