Wyndham council will impose parking restrictions on part of Hogans Road at Hoppers Crossing after residents’ complaints about overflow parking from a nearby mosque and church.
The council has agreed to trial two-hour parking limits – between 11am and 3pm on Fridays, and 9am to 1pm on Sundays – on the north side of Hogans Road, between Bethany and Derrimut roads, and on the south side of Hogans Road, for the next six months.
The council will also enforce a 150-people limit at the Werribee Islamic Centre, which includes the Virgin Mary Mosque.
And it will set up a meeting with members of the mosque and South West Christian Church to discuss shared parking, enabling church-goers to use the mosque carpark during service times, and vice versa.
The council’s actions are in response to a petition tabled at its May meeting. The petition, signed by 21 people, cited a range of resident concerns, including being unable to exit driveways safely and a lack of parking on the road on Fridays and Sundays.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said the problem was getting so bad that residents had started taking matters into their own hands, placing bollards on the roadsides in front of their houses.
“People continue to park across our driveway,” she said. “The congregations are getting too big for the area, and we feel it’s a safety issue.”
Cr Bob Fairclough confirmed church and mosque-goers were parking their cars across residents’ driveways during services and functions, effectively blocking Hogans Road residents from entering or exiting their properties.
Fellow councillor Gautam Gupta said it was one thing to impose parking time restrictions, but another thing to monitor them.
Intaj Khan, the only councillor to vote against the parking trial, said a two-hour time limit was too restrictive for people attending church and mosque services. He said a three-hour limit would allow people to attend services without rushing.
