An average of nearly three parking fines a day were handed out at Werribee railway station last year.
Officers issued 1054 fines to illegally parked vehicles at Werribee in 2014, dwarfing the numbers for neighbouring stations at Hoppers Crossing (38) and Williams Landing (10).
A Public Transport Victoria spokesman said that despite Werribee’s high number of station fines, all railway station carparks across the metropolitan network were patrolled equally. In 2013 inspectors issued 1213 parking fines at Werribee station.
The level of demand for spaces at Werribee station has climbed to the point that commuters regularly park on garden beds, kerbs and footpaths once designated carparks are taken.
As reported by Star Weekly, Wyndham council has promised to review parking restrictions around Werribee and Hoppers Crossing stations as growing numbers of commuters scramble to find spaces in surrounding residential streets.
“Parking restrictions are in place in streets around Hoppers Crossing station and those surrounding Werribee station,” council chief executive Kerry Thompson said.
“Wyndham City intends to review the extent that commuter parking may have extended past the streets with these restrictions and consider options based on that review.
“Any alterations to the parking situation around Hoppers Crossing and Werribee stations need to take into consideration that the Regional Rail Link will operate from June this year.”
While there have been calls to increase carparking at Wyndham’s three railway stations, Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said capacity wasn’t the only answer.
“Individual railway station carpark spaces cost anywhere from $15,000 to $60,000, so this has to be weighed up against investing that money into services,” he said.
“We need a certain amount of carparks at railway stations, but the demand for spaces is so high they will continue to overflow regardless of how many we create.”
Mr Morton said improved connectivity and more frequent services were a better option.
“People are sick of battling traffic on Point Cook Road only to find the carpark at Williams Landing full by 7am,” he said.
“If Melbourne is going to be a truly liveable city, we can’t continue to drown in road congestion. We need a decent bus network … running services every 40 or 60 minutes in Wyndham isn’t good enough. Ideally, buses should be running every 10 minutes.
“And rather than … turning a 15-minute trip into one which lasts more than an hour, they should follow a grid system along key arterial roads.”
