After decades of commuters using inner-city suburban streets as parking lots, a change could be afoot.
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In July, Fairfax Media reported West End residents' frustrations as their once quiet suburban streets attracted commuter's cars parked bumper to bumper.
While some of the suburb was listed as a central traffic area and had two-hour parking restrictions for those without residential permits, all streets south of Granville Street were a parking free-for-all.
In July, a council spokesman said the restricted traffic areas had been in place for more than 50 years and the council would only change them if there was overwhelming community support.
On Monday, the council sought to find out if that support existed.
It started delivering 6200 letters to every business and household south of Granville Street in West End and Highgate Hill to ask residents if they wanted a residential parking area to help solve the area's on-street parking issues.
Council's infrastructure chairwoman Amanda Cooper said several residents had raised concerns about the difficulty of parking in West End.
"Council strongly believes that residents should not be parked out of their suburban streets by commuters who do not make use of our public transport system," she said.
???Local Greens councillor Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) said he supported a reform of parking rules in the southern half of West End and Highgate Hill.
"We want to encourage people to travel by active and public transport," Cr Sri said.
"At the same time that council brings in these rules, they also need to be improving the frequency and reliability of public transport services."
Cr Sri said he believed different streets should be able to have different kinds of parking restrictions.
"I hope council will work with me to deliver a flexible system that has good signage and clear rules for each street," he said.
If more than 60 per cent of respondents supported the idea of a residential parking area by September 22, two-hour time limit signs would be erected for all streets south of Granville Street.
Each household would be able to apply for one residential permit and one visitor permit, and council would enforce parking time restrictions on all other vehicles.
Cr Cooper said most of the West End peninsula was already covered by designated parking laws and this was the last remaining area without restricted parking.
