Residents living in a terrace, townhouse or detached dwelling in Thornton could soon be eligible for a parking permit in two and four hour restricted zones.
Locals have been calling for the implementation of a permit scheme for years, with Councillor Kevin Crameri seeking a report back in 2016 after numerous complaints.
On Monday at the Penrith Council Ordinary Meeting, Councillor Marcus Cornish moved the motion to investigate potential parking exemptions, which was seconded by Cr Crameri.
The report considers that a parking scheme not apply to residents who reside in high rise or high-density developments in the estate.
“We raised this before and it was dismissed but these people do have the right to park outside their place and I do believe that they should have a parking permit in that area,” Cr Crameri said.
“It’s a great place to live but you can’t park outside your door, so I believe that people who bought here and paid big money should have the same rights as anywhere else to park outside their home.
“A simple sticker on the window to stop rangers from charging them is not going to cost much.”
Due to the estate’s close proximity to Penrith Railway Station, timed parking limitations are in place to assist with the commuter parking circulation.
Cr Cornish said Council had the right intention but the parking situation is only worsening for locals.
“It is a very expensive and up market area of Penrith and Council have done the right thing by trying to reduce commuters parking there during the day, however that has a detrimental effect for the people who live in the terrace houses,” he said.
“We’re a city that’s growing at a rapid rate, I can see a time where our streets will end up one way because of the sheer amount of people moving to our area but we’ve still got to look out for the people we’ve got.
“We should not be doing this sort of thing at the detriment of the ratepayer.”
Cr Crameri also called for a further report that seeks to investigate a similar residential permit system in other suitable areas around the region.
This would consider eligible streets such as those around Nepean Hospital and Jordan Springs as well as the Penrith and St Marys CBDs.
Nicola Barton
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Nicola Barton is a news journalist with the Western Weekender, primarily covering crime and politics.