Approval times for the development of commuter car parks near railway lines were expected to be slashed by by-passing the Council approval process and transferring their ownership, operation and maintenance to RailCorp.
Park’n’Drive to be extended
Premier Nathan Rees said the changes would mean 3,000 extra car park spaces announced in the Mini-Budget would be delivered quicker and more people would park their car and catch a train to work. Mr Rees said the reforms would speed up the delivery of commuter car parks by:
By-passing Council approval processes with the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation to be responsible for designing, approving and delivering all projects;
Amending local Councils’ authority to erect and change parking control signs on local roads in areas around new commuter car parks to allow the RTA to approve on-street parking to ensure there was real growth in parking spaces.
Transferring responsibility for ownership, operation and maintenance of commuter car parks to RailCorp and therefore removing lengthy negotiations with councils.
Mr Rees said existing commuter car park projects to benefit from the fast tracked approvals included Seven Hills, St Marys, Werrington and Revesby.
“Park and ride facilities are essential to delivering a smarter public transport system for NSW,” Mr Rees said.
“We announced in the Mini-Budget that an extra $56 million was being put towards building more commuter car parks and today we’re ensuring that these are done quickly and efficiently.”
Minister for Transport, David Campbell said while the Government was yet to allocate the new commuter car parks, it was already in the process of delivering 4,000 commuter car park spaces under the Urban Transport Statement.
“This will bring the total commitment to 7,000 extra car park spaces, which will make life easier for train commuters and encourage more people to use the rail system,” Mr Campbell said.
Mr Rees said the Government was committed to providing greater services for rail commuters and more parking options at railway stations was a big part of doing this.
“These car park spaces allow commuters to park and ride the train, supporting the Government’s policy of better utilising our road and rail network to get people around efficiently and comfortably,” Mr Rees said.
“Key to the reform is by-passing Council approval processes for new commuter car parks, with the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation to be responsible for designing, approving and delivering all commuter car parks, preventing endless delays while Councils review the proposals.”
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