The master-planned Sydney suburb with a big car problem

Residents living next to Sydney Olympic Park say they’re at breaking point after years of being ignored over complaints about their streets being swamped by toll-dodging drivers using rat runs and event-goers searching for free parking.

Newington, the suburb directly west of the events precinct, was developed primarily as the athletes’ village for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, providing a quick connection to the main stadiums.

But the proximity that was once a blessing is becoming a curse. Residents, who all report otherwise loving life in the suburban area, say they can barely leave the suburb during event days because of congested traffic and parking chaos.

“Event goers are using Newington as a free car park, basically,” said Michael Ng, the Parramatta councillor representing the suburb who said he had seen cars parked on both sides of the road, leaving only the width of a wheelie bin between them.

He has been working with the council to address concerns, focusing primarily on enabling access for emergency vehicles. “On each [event at Sydney Olympic Park], reports of multi-hour delays, blocked access to driveways, unregulated ride-share drop-offs and full car parks by mid-afternoon were common,” Ng said in a council motion this year.

“Despite clear benefits to the local and state economy, the operational planning for these events often does not sufficiently consider the lived experience of local residents or the transport impacts on adjacent communities.”

The latest delays occurred on Saturday night, when two illegally parked cars led to major delays throughout the suburb because they blocked two-way traffic on a street.

Rat run

Residents say the area is being used as a rat run by motorists who have discovered they can skip toll points on the M4 by snaking through the tight suburban streets and heading towards Parramatta.

The same route is provided on Google Maps as a toll and time saver, said Nidhi Malik, who has lived in the area since 2016 and began efforts to track the uptick in cars coming through the suburb. She recently spent a day recording the cars passing her home: there were 1200 movements recorded between 7.30am and 8.30pm.

“All I am looking for is the safety of my family,” she said. “I dread every time my child decides to take the bike to catch up with mates. I should not have to worry about that in a suburban street.”

She said she had spent a combined 22 days over the past year attempting to raise the issue with various groups, including councillors and state MP Donna Davis.

Davis said she understood the frustration of locals, and that she was “working with council and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority to find solutions, including integrated ticketing to encourage public transport use, a new parking scheme on Newington streets and improved enforcement of no parking zones”.

One exasperated resident, Alex Campbell, admits to approaching people who park illegally and kindly asking them to move. “It’s five years of bureaucratic horseshit – that’s basically what’s happening,” Campbell said. “It’ll probably take a kid to be run over [for action to be taken].

“My understanding of these types of institutions is that they’re there for the betterment of the community … Why, when this stuff is brought up, does it feel like it falls on deaf ears?”

There are no easy fixes, partly because of the way the area is set up. Unlike most suburbs, which are managed by local councils, Newington is organised as a community title: groups of residents decide on everything, from television satellites to approved paint colours for pergola frames. The City of Parramatta Council is responsible only for road safety and rubbish collection.

Malik said: “It is the responsibility of the state government. Councillors, who have very limited scope and responsibilities and are not the best to resolve issues that require multiple agency alignments, have not been able to resolve or bring everyone together to have a holistic conversation with the residents.”

The issues are also challenging to fix because the master-planned suburb was envisaged as a walkable, low-traffic area. The narrow streets, not designed for the larger cars that are increasingly popular, are mostly absent of parking regulations.

Campbell said residents needed action before matters escalated further.

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.