Page 1293 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for City Services, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction, Minister for Roads and Active Travel, Minister for Tertiary Education, and Minister for Transport) (10.10): The ACT government has committed to provide additional parking at Cooleman Court shopping precinct in response to requests from the community, particularly until the town centre is built in Molonglo.
Increasing car parking capacity at the centre reflects the commitments and recommendations outlined in the Weston Creek group centre master plan, which recognises that, until the town centre is built, temporary parking is required, in addition to the existing spaces that are available. It also reflects parking studies which have shown that the southern car park is under pressure. Despite extra car parking being provided in 2014 and 2019, Cooleman Court is a very busy and successful shopping centre and does require extra parking. It is now a major bus hub and it is also now home to a new public health facility in the Weston Creek walk-in centre.
The new car park is a temporary measure that aims to provide relief until the Molonglo town centre is completed. It will also help to deal with the pressure associated with the redevelopment of Kambah village and the supermarket there which is expected to be under construction from December 2020 and will see north Kambah residents using Cooleman Court, many for the first time.
The location of the car park on the corner of Brierly Street and Parkinson Street in Weston was rezoned from urban open space to community facility zone following the Weston Creek group centre master plan in 2014.
Following the announcement of the car park last year in the budget, I attended the Weston Creek Community Council to talk with residents about the proposal for the proposed new parking spaces. A consultation session was then held on 26 February 2020, with local residents, the Weston Creek Community Council and a representative of the Cooleman Court shopping centre owners, Mirvac, where the initial design for the car park was presented.
The design was revised after this session, in response to feedback from the community. The new design is for a temporary sealed car park with 65 parking spaces. The car park will be built on the north-western corner of the site to allow the greatest distance from nearby homes. The car park will have a single entry and exit from Brierly Street, with no access from Watling Place. That directly responded to concerns raised by the community.
We will construct a new pedestrian crossing on Parkinson Street to provide safe access from the new car park to Cooleman Court as well as the existing path from Stirling, which will be retained under the revised plans. A new pedestrian crossing will be built at the other end of the group centre, on Liardet Street, to provide safe access from the Mahony Court car park. We will also investigate additional street lighting at the underpass on Namatjira Drive so that safe connections can be made with the existing parks on Dillon Close.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video