Cade Lucas
Residents near Wyndham Vale station fear chronic traffic congestion and illegal parking in the area could have tragic consequences.
Morning traffic jams have become the norm along Cumbrian Road in Manor Lakes as commuters hurrying to catch V-line services to the city, park illegally along the already narrow street.
“There’s cars parked on footpaths, there’s cars parked on grassland, there’s cars double-parked, parked the wrong way, you name it,” said Cumbria Road resident Grant Burton who pointed out that there was sufficient parking 200 meters away, but that motorists preferred to park illegally near the station, creating gridlock.
“You’ve got two way traffic trying to get through a single lane at best, so you’re getting cars stuck halfway in the middle,” he said.
“I’ve probably on 10 occasions, gone halfway down and then had to reverse back because the person coming at me doesn’t know how to reverse.”
Mr Burton, who works in the security industry, said it was only a matter of time before pedestrians get hit or cars get damaged and that the road was already too narrow for emergency vehicles to get through.
“A fire truck wouldn’t need a turning circle of more than that space given so it would not be able to get through, It wouldn’t be impossible to get through. An ambulance, same thing. The turning circle for an ambulance with a car right on your hard left, hard right and straight in front of you, no paramedic would be able to turn the wheel on that angle in sufficient time to get through without cleaning up 10 mirrors and then they would have to stop because they hit a car.”
In response, Wyndham council said it was aware of the problem and was taking measures to address it.
“Wyndham city is in the process of installing eight No Standing signs and poles along
Cumbrian Road. The works will be completed over the coming weeks,” said a council spokesperson, who warned commuters that if they park illegally near Wyndham Vale station, they will be caught.
“Wyndham City’s enforcement team has been patrolling the area and taking enforcement action
against vehicles that are parking illegally. This includes vehicles parking within 10 metres of an
intersection, within three metres of a solid white line, and vehicles facing the wrong direction.”
