Locals Want Car Spots Back in Cutting

By Duncan Horscroft on April 29, 2019 in News

Can we please have our parking spots back now? by Joel Parkingson.

The recent Bronte Cutting Pilot Project Draft Survey, conducted by the Bronte Surf Club, reveals that more than 75 per cent of respondents want the 20 car spaces returned in the cutting.
Bronte Surf Club president, Basil Scaffidi, said the survey had only been in circulation seven days when almost 500 people had provided information, proving to Waverley Council that the response had to be taken seriously.
Waverley Council installed the walkway initially as a “trial” last November and they have yet to come to an agreement as to whether the car spaces will be returned. At a council meeting in February one of the options proposed was, “Excavating and building a pedestrian path over the sandstone headland to link with existing footpaths, resulting in no loss of parking.” This option was well received in a survey conducted by Council when the walkway was introduced, but there was also support for the car spaces to be permanently removed.
“We conducted our survey on March 12 and in one week received better results than the council survey that ran for two months,” Basil told The Beast.
“Their survey of 500 people included 200 face-to-face interviews and 300 on-line. If we had extended our draft we could have received 1,000 results in a heartbeat,” he said. “So it’s obvious the council survey was not properly instigated.”
The Elevated Walkway Diagnostics from the council survey suggested that it would be “safe” and could be designed for disabled access, but there were also safety concerns for those who park in the cutting still having to walk on the road.
There is no footpath on the western side now, so that is always going to be a problem.
It seems amazing that no plan for the car park was included in the initial stage of the Coastal Walk when it was first built and now plays host to around one million pedestrians a year.
A council meeting was planned for late last month to discuss the Cutting and a decision was due to be made.
Another issue the council might want to discuss is the on-street parking spots being eliminated by development.
Where old homes once stood, major architectural structures have now risen complete with double garages and driveways, eliminating parking spots for those without off-street parking.
One of the major problems is that new homes with spaces for two or more cars are not utilising the off-street facilities and garages are being used as workshops or storage areas.
It’s time the council cracked down on those parking on the street when they have applied for parking in their original Development Application. Vehicles registered to those new homes should be made to use the facilities provided.
Car parking is not a privilege by any means, but with the traffic increasing by mammoth proportions around the Eastern Suburbs some common sense must come into play, otherwise we will all have to park at the beach – if you can find a spot, that is!