Station parking under scrutiny

Ammon Beyerle, who commutes from Ballarat to Melbourne by train three to four times per week, said a massive upgrade to the number of parks at the site could accommodate for years worth of growth in the CBD area.

However, the planned upgrade to the precinct through a $25 million state government investment has many concerned about how much it will actually assist with commuter parking needs. 

The overhaul will see a hotel built by a private developer, which will also convert the existing goods shed into a convention centre. 

It’s understood the project will also deliver 150 parks for hotel and conference centre patrons, while maintaining 270 parks for public transport commuters.

However, Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford has categorically refused to say if local commuters will be able to use all areas of the station for parking following the completed development, citing the current commercial procurement phase as the reason.

A count of the area by The Courier last week showed more than 390 vehicles were housed in the park – with more than 250 alone squeezed into the informal gravel section.

Mr Beyerle, who spent more than a year designing concepts for the controversial Civic Hall site, said parking in the CBD was always at the forefront of planning for the hall.

“We ran that (Civic Hall) process and in some ways it (parking) was probably the biggest topic linked to the strategic planning,” he said.

“It didn't seem to us that the station was really carrying its share. It’s very clear to me that significant extra parking at the train station would be significant to Ballarat.

“I brought it up then at a December exhibition and when we first saw the master plan (for the railway site) a lot of people made the same comments.

“It needs 400 spaces minimum because of the CBD parking issue. The station seems to be the best place for it.”

Western Victoria MP Joshua Morris described the state government’s handling of the project as “shambolic” in Parliament last week.

“The land is currently underutilised, I agree; however, riding roughshod over the community and hiding the plans for the site is simply unacceptable,” he said.

Ms Pulford again declined to clarify parking details on Friday.

“The project is currently at a point of commercial negotiation. We’ll be in a position to provide a whole lot of detail on the next steps before the end of the year,” she said.