The state government has released a timeline for some of the city’s biggest projects, with a significant commuter car park preparing to open.
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Stage one of the Ballarat Station redevelopment, which includes the 405-space multi-level commuter car park, will open in late January according to Regional Development Victoria (RDV).
The new car park will be accessible to eastbound and westbound traffic on Nolan Street from January 20.
Expected to open before Christmas, the car park opening has been delayed due to ‘inclement weather’ according to RDV. A disused mineshaft was discovered on the site in late November, halting works.
The gravel area near the Goods Shed, which had been an informal car park at the station, will be fenced off and no longer accessible to the public.
RDV have announced that from February, stage two of the precinct redevelopment will begin, with fencing will be erected around the construction zone to make way for the refurbishment of the Goods Shed and the construction of the Quest Hotel.
Works will also commence on the new regional bus interchange, a $5 million project to be built by Pellicano, which will include the creation of traffic lights at the station’s Nolan Street entry. The lights will be switched on once the bus bays are completed.
A government spokesperson stated the interchange would mean it “soon will be safer and easier for people in Ballarat to get between buses and trains”.
V/Line buses will remain in current bays to the south of the precinct.
But when the car park opens in January, the intersection at the new entrance will be controlled with a stop sign for traffic from Nolan Street.
The opening of the car park will result in changes to station access, with new entry and exit points pedestrians and drivers.
Vehicles will need to enter the new internal road from Nolan Street to access parking, with the Lydiard Street North entrance to be closed until the completion of the entire precinct redevelopment in late 2020.
The new car park, which will replace existing informal car parking arrangements, will include lighting and CCTV for increased safety. However the three-storey Pellicano build is without elevators, with large ramps the only way to access upper levels.
