A SOLUTION to the parking problem plaguing a busy industrial stretch of road – dubbed the ‘Dobney Disaster’ – could be in sight.
Businesses lining the dual-lane street have welcomed Wagga City Council’s latest attempts to rectify the parking issue along Dobney Avenue, three years on since it mooted the idea of halving the number of lanes and introducing parallel parking.
WWCC’s most recent solutions include introducing two-hour timed parking at the southern end and allowing parking behind the kerb on the northern end of the street.
It’s a move the business community has given a resounding thumbs up.
Riverina Imports Bike Essentials business owner, Rodney Rynehart, believes introducing two-hour timed parking from 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and between 8.30am and 12.30pm Saturday along broken sections on both sides of the street will benefit customers, but could impact on staff parking.
“It’s a good thing, but I just hope we have enough of it,” he said.
It’s a sentiment shared by Riverina Mowerworld, one of the more popular parking options with one of the longest shopfronts on the street.
Owner Sally Mullan said two-hour parking would allow customers ample time to finish their shopping and ease up overcrowded parking along their shopfront.
She said past suggestions to reduce the dual-lane street to one would be “a nightmare”, and hoped this option would not come to fruition.
The move follows a business operation submitting a request to council about implementing two-hour limited parking to provide a turnover of vehicles in the area.
Wagga Business Chamber president Tim Rose maintains WWCC’s response is a step forward. “It was a tricky planning situation that required flexibility and problem solving that the Council managed really well,” he said. “We’d like to see more of this type of lateral thinking from them.”
A WWCC spokesman said in a statement that staff canvassed businesses in the area to develop an option that suited the majority of stakeholders.
It is estimated to cost $750 and its implementation has been referred to council’s road maintenance crew.
WWCC will receive a report on Dobney Avenue at Monday’s ordinary council meeting about a parking area on the western side behind the kerb, as recommended by the Traffic Committee.
