Inner south community organisation representatives, including DRA President Peter Wurfel, met with ACT Government officials from Roads ACT and Parking Operations to discuss the flow-on to surrounding suburbs of the introduction of pay parking in the Parliamentary Triangle.

For Deakin residents the key issue is the potential for commuters to seek free parking in streets adjoining the Parliamentary Triangle, together with lack of enforcement of illegal parking.

The map highlights in cyan those streets where it is proposed that additional parking restrictions could be needed. In Deakin, these are Melbourne Avenue, National Circuit, Canterbury Crescent and Daly Street. DRA has also asked them to look at Grey Street (parallel to Adelaide Avenue, next to the Prime Minister’s Lodge) which already is congested with visitor and all-day parking associated with the Lodge, the Italian Embassy, and the Girls Grammar junior school. Other streets may also be affected over time.

A letter box drop is expected in May, and implementation should occur in June.
Noting the lax enforcement of current parking restrictions, we have sent a budget proposal to the ACT Government requesting funding for more parking inspectors to be in place to meet the expected needs. The outcome of this will be known when the ACT Budget is delivered in June.

DRA expressed the view that illegal parking is not taken seriously enough, especially with the recent introduction of new parking restrictions around the grammar school environs. Parking Operations response is that they are actively working in conjunction with AFP to address this (obviously within current resources), and monitoring has been occurring. We encourage residents to let us know of any concerns on this issue so that we may keep the government informed.