Commuters in Sydney’s north-west will get up to 1,200 additional car parking spaces at two Metro stations under a $160 million investment announced by the Minns government.
A multi-storey car park holding up to 1,100 vehicles will be built at Tallawong, while an extra storey on the existing structure at Hills Showground will add up to 100 spaces.
Both car parks routinely reach capacity before 8am, leaving drivers circling for a spot or giving up on the station altogether. The new spaces will be folded into Transport for NSW’s Park&Ride system, which offers 18 hours of free parking a day to motorists who complete their journey by public transport.
The government has framed the spending as an attempt to close a gap between housing growth and transport capacity in Sydney’s outer suburbs. More than 50,000 homes are planned for the North West Growth Area over the next two decades.
Premier Chris Minns said parking at the two stations was “at a premium every day”, with spaces regularly taken by 8am. He said the original car parks were not built to cater for demand on the Metro north-west line, and that pressure was expected to grow as the area’s population increased.
Transport Minister John Graham called the M1 Metro “wildly popular” and said the announcement was the first of several measures for Metro users, describing it as part of a wider review of their needs.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car said the investment would make the daily commute easier for hundreds of residents and reflected the government’s focus on infrastructure for growing suburbs.
Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby said parking was the most common complaint he heard from constituents, and blamed the shortage on planning failures by the former Coalition government. Federal Member for Greenway Michelle Rowland said the Tallawong car park would more than double the spaces available and cut the time commuters spend searching for one.
The government says the expansion will complement other work underway, including bus service improvements, active transport links and increased Metro capacity.
The announcement did not include a construction start date, a completion timeline, or the current number of spaces at either station — figures that would indicate how far the new capacity goes towards meeting demand, or how long commuters will wait for relief.
Opposition transport spokespeople have been contacted for comment.