Page 1342 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2009
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This is a new issue obviously to Mr Coe, but I can assure him that it is not a new issue for me. It has been receiving my attention for quite a period of time. Of course, this came to my attention in my first term. During my first term I was approached by local businesses at the Nicholls shops to see whether some improvements could be provided to them in terms of parking arrangements at a particular car park. The shopkeepers had concerns, and continue to have concerns, about the safety of the existing car park and sought to increase the supply of parking spaces as well.
The car park, as we know, is very narrow and as a consequence cars back up to and around the roundabout at the entrance causing a traffic hazard. Additionally, if one stands as I do outside the Nicholls shops on a busy Friday evening, one observes the difficulty traffic has in backing out of the parking spaces and entering into parking spaces safely. This unfortunately leaves open the risk that a pedestrian crossing the car park or walking between cars will be injured, perhaps severely. Further, numbers of customers raised these same issues with me along with their constant frustration of not being able to find parking spaces at all during busy periods of the week. Consequently, I frequently observe people parking illegally.
As a result of the growing concerns around traffic banking up around the roundabout and unable to access the car park, dangerous reversing practices in a narrow space, lack of sufficient parking spaces, cars parking illegally, lack of vision and possible risk of pedestrians being injured while in the car park, I made representation to the then Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Mr John Hargreaves. He arranged a meeting with me, Roads ACT and the shopkeepers at the Nicholls shops.
In these early discussions with business owners and shopkeepers, two broad options were identified, one which would widen the existing car park in one of two ways, and the other which would convert some car parking spaces into timed parking to discourage long stays. I am aware that options to widen the car park were expensive and impacted on a number of existing services on the one hand or involved filling in a long, wide gully and possible diversion of stormwater on the other. I was therefore supportive of the other option, being timed car parking spaces, as something that could be progressed in the short term.
After the initial meeting I organised a further meeting with Minister Hargreaves in attendance with his departmental officers and other stakeholders, including the shopkeepers. The minister then instructed his department to review the situation again and find ways to address safety and other concerns as further representations were being made to me by users of the car park.
At the second consultation with Roads ACT and the minister it was suggested that in addition to timed spaces a one-way option be explored to allow for angle parking. This would obviously make entering and leaving the car spaces a lot safer and increase the number of spaces available. Additionally, a large, empty parking area is available some short distance away. However, it is not linked to the shopping centre car park except by a dirt path across the gully that I referred to earlier.
Obviously this car park, as Mr Coe said, is not necessarily one that people who are just popping into the shops want to avail themselves of. However, it is an option for
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