Since changes to the train timetable were made last month, it has been tougher than ever to find a spot to park near railway stations in the Illawarra’s northern suburbs. Reporter KATE WALSH navigated the narrow streets near Helensburgh station with a ‘‘pram cam’’ to see how challenging it was.
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It doesn’t take long for the car park at Helensburgh railway station to fill up in the morning as Sydney workers park their vehicles and catch the train the rest of the way to the city.
But people wanting to catch a train later in the day also need spots to park their cars.
So I was sent to test how difficult it was. I turned up at the station at 9.45 yesterday morning and, for an added challenge, borrowed a baby and pram for the journey.
Both car parks near the station were full, with cars spilling out and up onto the narrow streets nearby, making it difficult for a few buses which squeezed past to get to the station. The only vacant spots were further up the side of the steep roads.
Due to the wet weather, we decided not to strap the baby in the pram (leaving him with his dad instead) and continued without him.
Balancing an umbrella while trying to manoeuvre the pram was tricky enough without adding another 12 kilograms. Heading down to the station, I had to hug the side of the road as best I could. Cars were parked off the road as far as possible, but some were sticking out enough that I was pushed onto the asphalt further than I would have liked.
When I could walk closer to the kerb, there were sudden dips and little drops just off the edge, which had to be negotiated.
Coming to the corner of Tunnel Road and the street that leads to the station, the road was covered in dirt and rocks washed down by the rain, making it a bumpy ride – especially for the pram – to get to the path on the other side of the road.
Trees made it hard to see if any cars coming from the station were rounding the corner, but once I reached the path the rest of the way was clear.
On the way back up the hill, a few cars did come past, though I could only see those coming at me and not those creeping up behind. The trek up the hill didn’t seem quite so bad from the bottom, but pushing a pram, in the wet, while trying to avoid debris and bumps and keeping an ear out for any approaching motors wasn’t easy.
Though I was cursing the pram for being so heavy about halfway up, anything flimsier would have made it harder to dodge any obstacles on the road.
