I hold in my hand a petition signed by no fewer than 100 members of my local community concerning parking at Paradise Interchange. As we know, many locals have demanded improved parking facilities at Paradise Interchange for some time.
I hold in my hand a petition signed by no fewer than 100 members of my local community concerning parking at Paradise Interchange. As we know, many locals have demanded improved parking facilities at Paradise Interchange for some time. We know that Paradise Interchange provides an efficient transport service to our community, but this service has been greatly hindered in recent times by a lack of parking at the interchange. Many commuters understand the frustration of driving to the interchange in the morning hoping to make use of the great service available on the O-Bahn, only to be inconvenienced at the moment by a severe lack of parking.
Often, the solution for them is to park along nearby main roads and side streets, hence not only putting commuters at risk as they exit their vehicles during peak-hour traffic but also creating congestion in neighbouring streets. Further, it has been seen that there is a proposed sale of adjacent land, which I am informed is owned by a private party, which in the past the government has leased for extra parking. Should the sale of this land owned by a private party go through, this will increase congestion in neighbouring streets further and amplify the demand for improved parking facilities at the interchange.
While the state Labor government promised to fund improved car parking infrastructure at Paradise Interchange prior to the last election, they have failed to deliver. We think that the community deserves better because the government needs to make good on their pre-election promise and provide funds for car parking infrastructure. The government cannot, in good conscience, spend over $160 million on the city O-Bahn project to save commuters supposedly three minutes of travel time and then not even spend a few million dollars or anything to address the current congestion of cars parked on local roads in my electorate at Paradise.
I have been lobbying for several years now, and I know that the member for Morialta has previously also lobbied and continues to lobby with me on behalf of those affected by this severe lack of parking. We have done several things. We have actually been down to the interchange to collect signatures for this petition, and we have launched an online website, which can be found at www.parkingforparadise.com.au. I would encourage residents in the area, if they would prefer to go online, to log their concerns online, to join the campaign online and see what we are doing. There is also obviously a hard copy petition, which in the coming months I am sure we will table in this place.
The campaign is certainly building a strong local following through the community, with the aim of putting pressure on the state government to make good on their pre-election promise. It is not only residents but also businesses in the local area who continue to rally and get people in the area on board to make sure that the government does something soon about this parking situation because we need to relieve the tension and the anxiety caused by the lack of parking at the interchange.
If elected, we on this side of the chamber have said that the state Liberals will build a car park to address the shortage of parks at the interchange. However, until then, we must continue to put pressure on the state Labor government to fulfil its pre-election promise of providing more car parking at the Paradise Interchange, and I will continue to work hard for our community to make sure that we continue to make our area the best that it can be.
