Leader front page: C4GF says more carparking is needed.
Frankston advocacy group stunned by claim that demand for parking will stall for 20 years
FRANKSTON Council claims that there will be no increase in demand for parking in the city centre until 2037 have been rubbished by a major advocacy group.
The council made the assertion as part of a submission to a planning panel considering its idea for a “cash in lieu” parking scheme. Under the scheme, developers who could not provide the required amount of car parking would pay money into a fund, which would later be used to build carparks elsewhere in the CBD.
But Committee for Greater Frankston chief executive Ginevra Hosking said while the group backed the plan for a developers’ fund, the statistics supplied by council planners to justify the reduction in parking ratios were so fundamentally flawed that they could not be relied on. She said council-commissioned data to determine commuter demand for station car parking had been collected on days “the trains weren’t even running”.
“Despite a steadily growing population, council planners have projected that there will be no increase in demand for commuter parking in the city centre from now until 2037,” Ms Hosking said. “This is completely unrealistic.”
Ms Hosking said the city centre already urgently needed more parking if it was to flourish. “Frustrated shoppers, tourists, and business owners have told the government and council that if the city centre is going to progress, it needs more parking, particularly more commuter parking,” she said.
The council has long struggled to address parking woes in central Frankston. Traders have repeatedly complained about lost business as customers can’t find a car park. In 2015, councillors conceded $250,000 spent on car parking studies had been wasted. According to the council, Frankston’s population is expected to grow from about 134,000 to almost 154,000 by 2036.
In a statement, mayor Colin Hampton said councillors would be briefed on the planning panel’s report. He did not respond to Ms Hosking’s complaints.
