Page 2376 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Our patient demographic is unusual in that a very high proportion of our patients have chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease. Many of these illnesses result in mobility impairment and since most patients either do not have access to public transport or are not fit enough to use it, availability of parking close to the Practice is very important to them.
Clients of these practices have also raised strong objections. In another submission a patient of Canberra City Osteopathy said:
I have chronic back, neck and shoulder problems. Over 20 years I have found that regular osteopathy treatment helps, whereas nothing else does.
I work full time and am a taxpayer. The only way I can attend Canberra City Osteopathy is to drive to Civic. While working full time I simply cannot park further away or get public transport, because both methods would simply eat up time that belongs to my employer.
I can only imagine that I will have to start working part time so that I can actually get to my osteopathy appointments.
Another patient wrote:
I regularly attend sessions at an osteopathy clinic on London Circuit in order to remediate injuries sustained in an accident last year. My mobility is ok, but not always perfect, and I’m often in pain. I need to park close to the clinic, so the London Circuit car park is perfect for my needs.
Outside these medical and health practitioners, many restaurants, bars and clubs rely on these parking spaces to encourage Canberrans to visit their respective venues. Once this car park is closed, if light rail goes ahead and Canberrans begin parking elsewhere in the city, these venues are rightly concerned that this could lead to a significant loss of revenue. Ultimately, this leads to the possibility of businesses limiting their trading hours or, worse still, closing their doors altogether. A submission sent to the ACT government reads:
I have customers who already find it difficult to park on this side of the city, and if the project goes ahead, those customers could easily consider other areas to eat and visit where they know parking will be easily found.
These views are echoed by both Canberra CBD Ltd and the Property Council, who both warn that approximately 500 businesses and 3,500 employees will be affected by closing down this car park. Of course, it is also important to remember that most of these restaurants, bars, clubs and other businesses have already been impacted by the ACT government’s decision to extend the hours of pay parking. The government’s commercial rates have also been increasing year on year, meaning most of those businesses which thrive on an active nightlife have been hit by the triple whammy of rates increases, parking charge increases and a reduction in parking. It is no wonder that landlords and tenants are concerned that their businesses might not be viable heading into the future.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video