This view of cars parked on either side of Byron Road, Leppington as far as the eye can see is repeated near stations across our region.
“In the almost two years that I have been campaigning for #MoreParkingNow I have never seen so many cars parked on Byron Road, going from Rickard Road right past the bend and around or on Rickard Road from Bringelly Road right past Leppington Primary School,’’ says Michael Andjelkovic.
Every one of these cars belongs to a commuter who uses Leppington railway station to get to work and back every day.
And this is not an isolated scene across outer south west Sydney.
Similar scenes can be found at Edmondson Park, just about every station between Glenfield and Macarthur and further north at Liverpool and Warwick farm.
“The way things are going, by the time the NSW State Government delivers its promised 1000 extra car parking spaces at Leppington Station we will need lots more parking there,’’ says Mr Andjelkovic.
“It seems like we are just going around in circles.
“The band aid solutions are just not working.’’
The State Government, whether it was the bureaucrats or the politicians, has clearly failed in any planning for the number of commuter car parking required at the eight year old stations at Edmondson Park and Leppington.
“Commuter car parking crisis’’ – that’s been the headline in the local media in the past three to four years.
Locals like Michael Andjelkovic, fed up with real action, started campaigning.
Mr Andjelkovic (pictured), who was a candidate in the last state election in March 2019, is seeking to become a Liverpool councillor this September.
In the meantime he says that the 2020 #MoreParkingNow petition has been launched to push the case for what could be the real long term solution to the commuter car parking crisis: the extension of the South West Rail Link from Leppington to Badgerys Creek Airport.
“With the South West rail link not scheduled to proceed until 2056, commuters will be waiting at least 36 years before the extension of the railway line happens,’’ he says.
“Thirty six years is a long time to wait for this to happen.’’
He said commuters at Leppington Station have been supportive of the petition with over 300 signatures collected in just two days.
“But we are a long way short of the 10,000 required to trigger a debate in Parliament,’’ Mr Andjelkovic said.
