Map for more commuter parking

This map can be marked with areas where commuters could park all day, for free with no disadvantage to Burwood residents.

Bike parking in Burwood

I cycled down to Burwood a few days ago, to do my lunchtime errands. If they are discouraging cars, perhaps they are encouraging bike riders, and it would be easy to park my bike? The rubbish bin design is very handy, I managed to chain my bike to this bin. I hope noone tripped over the bike while I was away. Quite a busy spot.

What to do about Burwood Council?

Burwood Council won't change their policy on commuter parking if noone asks them to. We might work in the area, and spend something like 1/3 of our waking hours in the area, but we have no say, no voice, no vote. Council can disregard the local workforce all together. How can we make them consider our needs as well? Maybe a petition - an online petition? I'm going to investigate online petition sites, to see what looks good. Any other ideas?

And more empty pay parking

Another line of spaces, about 5, in Park Road near Railway Parade. Metered 4 hour parking and empty at 2.30pm on a Friday afternoon. Does Burwood Council think that eventually they can squeeze commuters into paying $12 a day (I think that's what you'd have to put in a meter to park for the day - future research...) if they make sure there is just nowhere to park for free?

Another dozen spots gone today

I drove up Park Avenue Burwood this morning, and couldn't believe my luck to see a parking spot. Then I saw the arrow on the 2 hour parking sign pointing not just down the hill, but up the hill too, and all the parking spaces, empty. This was my favourite stretch to get a park when I first came to work in the area, nearly 3 years ago. I had been getting a spot here more and more rarely. Now no more. Perhaps the residents in the flats have complained that their visitors cannot park? Perhaps there is a need for more street parking for shoppers, even though there is stacks of space in Westfield Plaza.

Mirror danger

So desperate am I sometimes for a parking spot that I settle for one on a narrow but busy stretch of road like this on Wentworth Rd near Parramatta Road. It makes me very nervous, because once in a similar spot further south I found that the driver side mirror on my car had been side-swiped, and my car door scratched. It cost over $200 to replace the mirror. The scratch is still there. The van driving past my car is pulling away very close to the double centre lines. Maybe another driver won't do that. Panel beaters and car parts sellers could be getting a lot more business as a result of Burwood Councils anti-commuter parking policies, forcing us into unsafe spots.

Ex-parking spots

Burwood Council has re-zoned a lot of spots that were all day parking, during the last 18 months. Here at least one spot in Nixon Lane is now a No Stopping zone. Some places just one or two spots have gone, other places 6, 10, 12. Some of them may be justifiable for safety reasons or resident concerns. But Council never makes up for this by making new spots available elsewhere. I wonder how many all day spots have been re-zoned in the last couple of years?

Railway Crescent Burwood

This stretch of road is enough for about 30 cars to park. It is limited to 2 hours, and it is mostly empty. Council had meters here for a while, but they mustn't have been earning their keep, becaue they were taken away. Come on Burwood Council, this isn't even resident parking. How about making it unlimited?

Meryla Street empty car park

I'm fed up with seeing loads of empty areas in Burwood where commuters could park their cars, except that the areas are zoned to either prevent it, or charge for it. So I'm starting to collect the evidence. Anyone else is welcome to add, subject to the limitations of blogger, which will be discovered. I photographed this paying car park, with a 10 hour limit, on the corner of Meryla St and Webbs lane, at about 8.15am on a weekday. There is room for around 30 cars in this car park. There are about 3 cars here. Even on a Monday morning at 8.45am, when I can assure you that a free all day parking spot within 10 minutes walk of Burwood is impossibe to find, this car park had 4 cars in it.