“We have had shift workers trudging in the dark after very long shifts in very unsafe conditions,” Dangar Island’s Henry Innis told the December council meeting.

Innis’ speech was warmly received by the river residents who packed the council chambers that night, prompting Liberal mayor Philip Ruddock to issue a stern warning against clapping.

“Let me be very clear,” Ruddock said. “These meetings are orderly. We do not encourage applause, and I will clear the gallery if it continues.”

Advocates for restricted parking said the limited resources needed to be shared. While Brooklyn is usually sleepy during the week, on weekends and school holidays it teems with locals and visitors looking to fish, camp or get out on the water.

The lone councillor to oppose the policy backflip, Liberal Nathan Tilbury, said some river residents occupied the untimed spaces with their cars and trailers for days, weeks or even longer, squeezing out other users. “This is not car parking, this is car storage,” he said.

Brooklyn Community Association president Cindy Corkery begged councillors to “resist being swayed” by the river residents’ passionate pleas. “We do appreciate that some of our neighbours face hardships,” she said. “Please know, we hear you. However, we also hear the families who want safe access to the recreational opportunities and to our businesses.”

Hornsby Shire Council is working on a place plan for Brooklyn which will investigate longer-term solutions to parking woes. But Ruddock told the river residents he did not think the council would attain any funding from the state government “in the present political environment”.

He said he was disappointed river and mainland residents hadn’t been able to come up with a solution among themselves without the council getting involved.

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“The only reason we came to have a council position was because of the failure to be able to achieve that outcome,” Ruddock said. “I would encourage you all to continue to talk to each other because this situation is only going to be able to be addressed when there is a degree of unity.”

Is that possible? Boyle, the Dangar Island community leader, thanked councillors for the partial backflip and says river dwellers know they must contribute to a long-term fix. But Cribb, from Little Wobby, had his doubts.

“Unfortunately, Brooklyn is being loved to death,” he said. “All the river people have just had their lives diminished. People are saying they have to leave. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back.”