Community sentiments around the proposed satellite car park at the end of Kramer Drive have diminished, as residents have reported two attempted burglaries and two vehicles stolen around the area in the last four weeks.
The issues with the proposed car park are not new, but renewed under the current consultation period held by the City of Casey.
According to Sophie, one of Kramer Drive’s residents, she said that the concern is fairly simple; residents believe that having a car park could exacerbate the current experiences of crime in the area, pushing the no-through road to be more akin to, or possibly even more hazardous than, the 1001 Steps’ Bayview Car Park.
“The residents are afraid it’s going to attract more unwanted people, and that they would take advantage of that car park and the cars being there,” she said.
“These people could come up and scout out those cars, especially if the gates are left open at night; we could maybe even get people doing burnouts.
“We have these criminals coming up our road, and they already have that intent, especially because it’s not easy to get out of our road, you know?”
The current consultation period saw residents give their feedback in-person three times at different pop-up sessions, with the only remaining day left on Saturday, 13 September.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, captured CCTV footage of two individuals in their backyard at roughly 3am in the morning, alleging that they attempted to break into their home.
Another resident reported their vehicle as stolen overnight on the weekend of 6 to 7 September, reporting the incident to the Narre Warren police station.
While she had voiced her frustrations the last time she spoke to Star News, she believes that with the number of alleged recent criminal incidents in the area, the locals’ voices need not just to be heard, but understood.
Sophie added that neighbours have recently told her that over the last few weeks, they’ve observed the gate at the end of the Drive leading to the park open late, once even at 11pm; many others have recalled that the gates have been left unlocked “more than a handful” of times.
“This is all really scary, especially because a lot of us have families and kids,” she said.
”There are also a lot of elderly residents here, and who knows what direction these people are going to go next, or how desperate they’re going to get if they’ve tried so many times in such a short period?”
Once more speaking on behalf of the residents, she added that people have reported times when the gates, as well as the entrance on Bournevale Drive, have been “guarded by security”.
Despite that, however, she also said that “no one’s going to be monitoring the place 24/7” and understands that crime as a whole is a country-wide issue.
Nevertheless, it’s with the experience of the neighbouring Bayview Car Park that she said is making residents “paranoid”.
“We’re constantly messaging one another [neighbours], asking ‘did you hear that noise’ or ‘is that car familiar to anyone’?
“I feel like it [the car park] would create an environment where everyone feels stressed, with crime making people afraid to be in their own home.
“It’s literally been trialled somewhere else and you can see the results, so why are they trying to justify it now for this street?” she said.
This story is developing, and more information will be added once available.
