11,000 new car spaces will be available at train stations across Victoria under a re-elected Labor Government, with new car park development making the state’s busiest metro and regional stations more efficient for commuters.
The $150 million Car Parks for Commuters Fund will see a 20 per cent bump in available parking, moving current station spaces from 55,000 to 66,000.
The additional 11,000 spaces are on top of the close to 10,000 new and upgraded spaces built by the State Government over the past four years, and is expected to create and support over 400 jobs.
Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, and Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, announced an extra 1,500 new station car parks along the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
That includes at least 150 new car parks at Dandenong and 135 new spaces at Lynbrook Station, with Cranbourne Station to benefit from at least 400 extra parks, up from the current 683.
With communities along the Pakenham line also feeling the pinch, parking at Pakenham Station will be more than doubled with an extra 450 parks.
A re-elected Labor Government will consult with local communities to maximise the number of car parks along the lines, with a commitment to bring the total number of new parks to at least 1,500.
The extra spaces are expected to relieve pressure along the lines, unclogging neighbouring streets and alleviating the need for commuters to ‘car park hop’, driving from station to station in order to find a park.
Additional stations and communities will benefit from the fund, with more announcements to be made in the coming weeks. In addition to building the new parking, funding will also go towards making stations even safer and more accessible for commuters with new lighting, security and signage.