A promised, a Wollongong City Council study into parking in the northern suburb of Thirroul will take place this year.
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The review was announced in May last year, following the start of construction of a new commuter car park in Church Street, Thirroul, across the train line from the Thirroul Plaza shopping centre.
The study was initially delayed to take into account any effects of the new car park.
It will now also look to take into account any changes arising from the trial of express services stopping at Austinmer, announced by Transport Minister Andrew Constance last month.
“Council is planning to carry out a review of the use of on-street and commuter parking in Thirroul later this year,” a council spokeswoman said.
“The timing of Council’s parking survey will take into account the NSW State Government’s recent announcement there will be a trial of additional train stops at Austinmer Station.”
The spokeswoman said the review would avoid school holidays and times such as Easter, because they were considered “non-typical of commuter parking demands”
“The review will look at driver parking habits, and the availability of parking in Thirroul,” she said.
“Depending on the parking survey results, Council could consider a review of on-street parking time limits and any unrestricted parking to improve parking availability in Thirroul.
“However, any changes to unrestricted parking on Lawrence Hargrave Drive requires NSW Roads and Maritime Services approval. Council regularly liaises with the relevant transport agencies on such matters.”
Parking has been a hot-button issue in Thirroul since the 2013 timetable revamp turned the local station into a hub for express services, with local trains acting as feeders from other stations.
However, rather than catch those local trains, Thirroul residents say commuters chose to drive to their suburb, park in the street and catch the express service.
In September 2015 the 150-space car park was opened.
However, residents have said the car park is chronically under-used, with just 10 cars using it daily on average.
Also some residents and commuters are still unaware of the car park's existence.