By Rowan Forster
Parking inspectors are snaring nearly two commuters, on average, at Berwick’s bustling train station car park every day.
City of Casey slapped 695 motorists with fines at the notorious parking bay in the past year – harvesting at least $55,000 in revenue from the hotspot alone.
It has ranked as the third most fine-prone train station in Victoria.
The State Government funded 30 new spots in December, 2017, but it has reportedly provided little relief for those travelling to work and university.
Rail commuters say they are ditching public transport due to the deficit of station parking, unable to afford paying fines due to the lack of all-day spots.
Nicholas Huntly drives to South Yarra for work five times per week, deterred from catching the train at Berwick Station due to the frustrating “parking paralysis”.
“If you arrive any later than 7.30am there’s literally nowhere to park,” he said.
“Every day there are cars mounted on curbs, parked in garden embankments and inside their own parking spaces because that’s the only way they can make it to work.
“Considering they’re fining all of these people, it would be nice if those proceeds were put towards increasing parking facilities.”
He said a multi-storey car park would be the most sensible way to tackle the crisis.
Solutions have been few and far between, with the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) stating that building more car parks is not the answer.
“When you look at the costs of adding parking spaces compared with the number added, you’re looking at $15,000 – $50,000 per car space, which for one additional train passenger, is a huge outlay,” PTUA president Tony Morton said.
“Public transport isn’t something you should have to get into your car and drive to get to.”
Parking at Berwick Station has long been a grievance for motorists.
In April 2017, Danielle Soobaroyen told Star News she could no longer afford to commute to work on the train due to the risk of incurring fines at Berwick.
Her fury struck a chord with many readers, including one motorist who offered to pay her most recent $78 infringement.
Federal MP for Latrobe Jason Wood also lambasted the shortfall of parking at Berwick Station.
“Instead of fining people for parking, how about building better parking facilities for the people who are simply trying to get to and from work and university,” he said.
In defence of the “lacking” facilities, a Transport Victoria spokesman said an extra 2000 parking spaces were being built across Victoria’s network.
He said 2100 spaces had already been developed as part of the Station Car Park Upgrade program.
