Summary of concerns and irregularities

After reviewing Council Minutes and other publicly available material, I have identified a number of concerns and irregularities relating to the manner in which the decision to reduce commuter car-parking facilities at the Marion Street and nearby carparks were made and implemented.  Particulars of my concerns may be summarised as follows:

1.      In preparing and releasing the “Draft Bankstown City Centre Car Parking Strategy” (BCC/001634) for public consultation between January and February 2009, the Council failed, whether intentionally or otherwise, to disclose details of the proposal to substantially reduce the number of commuter car-parking facilities at the Marion Street carpark as well as nearby all-day parking facilities at the Greenfield Parade and Meredith Street carparks.

2.      This failure to disclose meant that segments of the Bankstown community who would be most adversely affected by the proposal, namely residents who park their cars at commuter carpark facilities and travel to work by train from Bankstown Railway station, where not given the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding and/or to oppose the proposal.

3.      Information and evidence from Council Minutes and publicly available documents suggest that Council staff, whether purposely or otherwise, chose to selectively notify Bankstown CBD-based users of the carparks, being those who would benefit from the proposal, and not commuter users who would be adversely affected by any proposal to reduce the number of commuter car parking facilities (Council Minutes dated 24/03/2009).

4.      Despite its resolution to provide a 4 week grace period when new parking time limits are introduced (effective between 7 and 28 September 2009), Council parking officers continued to issue parking infringement notices on commuters who parked outside of marked spaces on the rooftop of the Marion Street carpark even though they did not interfere with the carpark’s traffic flow nor cause inconvenience or obstruction to others. This is unconscionable given that the chronic shortage of commuter car-parking itself was caused by Bankstown Council’s own decision to substantially reduce the number of commuter parking spaces (Council Minutes dated 28/07/09).

5.      The Council’s decision appears to have disregarded, whether purposely or otherwise, available data and evidence that would have directly undermined the merits and justifiability of the proposal. 2006 Census data shows that some 1,502 residents of Bankstown or 16.7% of the local working population travel to work by train compared to the 12.3% Sydney metropolitan average. With only 250 all-day parking spaces at the Marion Street carpark serving Bankstown Railway station commuters prior to the changes (which was later reduced to 139), there was evidently, already an under-supply of commuter car-parking facilities in Bankstown. Anecdotal evidence from commuters using the Marion Street carpark suggests that even before the recent changes, all-day commuter parking would virtually be 100% utilised by approximately 10:00 am on weekdays during working hours. Furthermore, revenue collected by the Council from commuters parking outside of marked parking spaces in the Marion Street rooftop carpark over the years would have informed the Council of the shortage of commuter carpark facilities at the carpark.

6.      In contrast, Bankstown Council saw the need and recently decided to enter an agreement with the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (TIDC) pursuant to the NSW Government’s Commuter Car parking Program to construct a 670 space commuter carpark facility for Revesby (to commence in January 2010) even though the 2006 Census shows that only 970 residents of Revesby-Revesby Heights travel to work by train. This would equate to approximately 1 parking space per 1.44 commuters as opposed to 1 parking space per 6 commuters in Bankstown previously and 1 parking space per 10.8 commuters after the recent all-day parking changes at the Marion Street carpark.

7.      While publicly endorsing the NSW Government’s ‘park-and-ride’ initiative and obtaining funds under the Government’s Commuter Car park Program to construct additional commuter parking at Revesby and Padstow, Bankstown Council undermined the overall initiative by purposely cutting back commuter parking at Bankstown station. The decision is also in disregard of general community concerns regarding encouraging the use of public transport to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions from cars on the road.

8.      The Council’s conduct and/or that of relevant staff as outlined above, is arguably in breach of the Council’s own mission statement of “Good governance across Council operations” and “Well managed services and facilities that meet the needs of the community, and that respect the environment and diversity”, and stated values of “Fair, honest and open dealings”, “High levels of community consultation concerning our decisions and activities”, and “Caring for the natural environment”.