LOCAL Member for Scarborough, Liza Harvey has reaffirmed her support for the additional parking bays currently under construction at Stirling Train Station.

Mrs Harvey said the bays were part of the Liberal Party’s commitment to providing additional car parking capacity at train stations along the Joondalup and Mandurah train lines.

“We promised the additional bays and we are delivering them, I make no apology for that,” Mrs Harvey said.

Mrs Harvey’s comments come after a Stirling City Centre Alliance spokesperson questioned the $5 million price tag of the new parking bays given the draft structure plan for the area will see the car park rezoned as mixed use and development potentially occurring after ten years.

“Anyone who tries to park at Stirling Station in the morning knows there is a need for more parking and this need is not going to go away anytime over the next ten years,” Mrs Harvey said.

“I’m not going to tell people wait ten years or find a better way to get to work.  I believe in providing choices for commuters; people want to park and then catch a train and I see no problem in providing the additional bays so that they can.”

“It would not surprise me if in ten years any future development on the site included the provision of parking for public transport users.”

Mrs Harvey said there were benefits to reducing freeway congestion by providing additional parking.

“The additional bays will take cars off the freeway during peak periods as people use our rail network instead and this in itself justifies the price tag.”

“I look forward to the opening of the new car park.”