Improve Parking around the Australian Technology Park

The Australian Technology Park is currently holding community meetings with the community, the council, police and tenants of the ATP to try and solve the community's parking problems.

It is the general consensus of the community (including residents who have been here for over 25 yrs) that the problems have been caused by the recent influx of cars into the area with the arrival of the Channel 7 building (and previous to this, the building contractors working on it).

The community believes the parking problems can be solved by the ATP internally. Disappointingly, at the last community meeting 9th August 2010 the only parking studies undertaken were of local street parking, not of the ATP parking areas and the suggestions for solutions solely involved local street parking and not onsite parking at ATP.

ATP suggestions included new parking restrictions, angle parking and increased signage which have further negative impact on our community. Whilst some suggestions, made by the parking consultant Terry Lawrence (such as easier access to community centres, childcare etc) may be helpful generally, this is not the answer.

The answer in the minds of the community is to utilise the mostly vacant car parking areas onsite at ATP.

The reason that the carpark is under-utilised, according to the ATP workers that the community have spoken to is that the ATP is charging exorbitant parking fees. Visitors and workers at ATP cannot afford the parking fees and instead park often illegally and dangerously in nearby streets, creating conflict and tension with residents and local workers.

A primary reason given by ATP for not reducing the fees to a reasonable amount (currently $20 - 30 a day) was that the ATP needed the revenue. ATP has also suggested that by creating high fees they are encouraging workers/visitors to use public transport. Unfortunately this is not the case and they are merely encouraging workers/visitors to use the free parking in the streets of the community.

ATPs revenue is not the problem of the community. It is immoral to inflict hardship and suffering on the community for private financial gain.

This petition is to urge the ATP to stop inflicting suffering on our community and take responsibility for the situation by conducting studies onsite in the ATP.

We strongly recommend that the ATP immediately commences parking studies onsite and reduces parking fees drastically to ease the burden on the community.