Nearly 500 commuters have been stung with parking fines at Tarneit railway station this year.
Wyndham council city operations director Stephen Thorpe said so far this year, 479 parking fines and 54 warnings had been given to drivers parked illegally at the train station – with 183 issued in the month of October alone.
Mr Thorpe said the council started actively enforcing parking restrictions at Tarneit in the second half of this year following complaints from residents.
“In particular, cars were parking across the footpath and preventing pedestrians getting to the station,” he said.
“These figures indicate the demand for parking exceeds supply.
“This is something that council has regularly communicated to the state government, which is responsible for providing parking at the station.”
Tarneit station, the busiest on the Regional Rail Link network after Southern Cross, has 1000 parking spaces.
Star Weekly asked commuters to share their experiences on Facebook. Ramya said that often, by 8.45am, car parking spaces on both sides of Tarneit station were full, prompting her to park across the road from the station.
“Imposing fines is not a solution,” she wrote.
“There are some people who park their car on the platform or grass area because they are not able to find a parking spot on either side.”
Sylvia added: “The parking is insufficient and the bus services are not frequent enough to service the population in the area needing to get to the station. I dread to see how it will be in a year or two from now when all the new estates fill in.”
A spokesman for Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said Tarneit station had one of the biggest commuter carparks anywhere in Victoria.
“There is also secure parking for bikes, and a number of local bus services run directly to the station.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve public transport and will consider improvements to the carpark, bus network and train services in Tarneit as part of ongoing upgrades to the network.”
