Hume councillor wants car spaces allocated for Sunbury commuters to be given to shoppers, traders

HAVE YOUR SAY: A COUNCILLOR has vowed to take car parks on the southern side of Sunbury Railway Station away from commuters and give them to shoppers.

SUNBURY councillor Jack Ogilvie has vowed to return 106 car parks on the southern side of Sunbury Railway Station to traders and shoppers, which are used by commuters.

In December last year Cr Ogilvie was successful in persuading the council to write to Public Transport Victoria (PTV) informing them 106 parking spots, marked in yellow near Harris Scarfe, would be taken up by the council on March 14.

But Hume Council governance and information director Daryl Whitfort said the existing contract remains in place.

"Council passed a resolution to allow the current parking arrangements to remain in place for now, as we continue to work with the Department of Transport to achieve a positive outcome," Mr Whitfort said.

"Council is investigating what carparking options are available on other sites it owns in the town centre."

Cr Ogilvie said he hoped impending legal advice sought by the council would strike a better deal for Sunbury traders and shoppers who he said were the losers in the aftermath of the redeveloped station.

"We lost 39 car parks when the station went in, while it was the refusal by the Government to tip in $3 million that denied Sunbury 580 new parking spots," Cr Ogilvie said.

"If PTV were a business and their net impact was a loss of car parks to Sunbury, there is no way their plans would go through."

Cr Ogilvie said he would continue to campaign for the 106 spots to be returned to council ownership.

Public Transport Victoria did not respond to Leader's request for comment before deadline.

What is your best solution to fix Sunbury CBD's car parking problems? Email sunbury@leadernews papers.com.au or leave a comment below.