Doncaster Westfield Car Parking On Development Sites – 500 today
The five level Car Park, proposed by Westfield to accommodate 570 cars, will more than replace temporary off-site parking at three adjacent building sites currently being used to accommodate up to 500 cars. The three sites pictured below now have permits for high rise development.
So after all is done – Westfield will have more onsite parking, but overall little change in total parking available…
120 Spaces Corner of Doncaster Road and Frederick Street
150 Spaces at 1 Grosvenor Street
230 Spaces at Tower Street also accessed from Council Street
7 Comments
Thanks for the article
In fairness to Westfield I want to correct the estimated parking capacity of the Grosvenor St site. The number of spaces were increased when the buildings shown in the photo were removed, which means the total number of temporary car spaces available offsite is much closer to being equal to what Westfield will be providing in their multi deck car park.
Parkmore
No information has been provided as to where the multi deck car park will be located, but since all available areas outside of the buildings of the centre are being used for ground level parking, the number of car spaces the Multi Deck will displace might need to be taken into account when assessing Westfield’s total parking supply. e.g. If there are 114 on each of the five levels there would be a displacement of at least 114 car spaces from the area the building will occupy.
If the temporary offsite parking is equal to the number in the proposed Multi Deck, as Parkmore is suggesting, then Westfield may well have at least 114 less parking spaces available, than what they have now, when the building sites currently providing offsite parking, are developed.
Ruben
To correctly assess Westfield’s parking, you must disregard all temporary offsite areas and focus on the number of spaces it has on site and how many it will have after the completion of the five level car park.
In July 2007, prior to the Westfield extension, Manningham had notified the community that a parking ratio of 5 car parking spaces per 100m2 of retail space would be applied, originally it was 8 car parking spaces but overtime there has been issues such as extended trading hours that had affected the ratio.
Westfield more than doubled its retail area from 51,000m2 to 109,754m2 but has only increased its onsite parking from 3673 to 4,771, an additional 1098 car spaces, a ratio of less than 4.35 per 100m2.
If the five storey car park can provide a net 456 (allowing for displaced parking) it will increase Westfield’s total parking spaces from 4,771 to 5,227 which is 4.763 spaces per100m2 of retail area but still 260 short of the 5487 required.
Bob.B
Given that Westfield Doncaster, listed among the best shopping centres in Melbourne, was to be the lynch pin for the Doncaster Hill Activity Centre and its future development, providing the catalyst for private sector investment in the area and for council achieving its long term vision, why had council approved such a low number of car parking spaces for the centre?.
Below data from website BEST SHOPPING CENTRES IN MELBOURNE providing comparisons based on a ratio of shops to the number of car parking spaces:
CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE
530 Shops,9,500 free car parking spaces,….17.92 car spaces per shop
WESTFIELD KNOX (formerly known as Knox City Shopping Centre)
350 Shops, 6,300 free car parking spaces….18 car spaces per shop
WESTFIELD SOUTHLAND
410 Shops, 6.000 free car parking spaces,….14.63 car spaces per shop
HIGHPOINT (maribyrnong)
400 Shops, 6,000 free car parking spaces,….15 car spaces per shop
WESTFIELD DONCASTER
400 shops, 4771 car parking spaces…….. .. 11.93 car spaces per shop (short term parking is free)
Manningham Council had determined that a total of 5,488 spaces would be required for Westfield Doncaster. Currently there are 4,771 existing on site which will be increased to at least 5.227, depending on the design of the five level car park, but still up to 261 spaces below the quota.
Roseville
http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/planning/amendmentC103/2012-06-05_FINAL%20REPORT_City_of_Monash_Glen_Waverley_PPP.pdf
The above link demonstrates what can be achieved with responsible forward planning such as that specified in the Glen Waverley Activity Centre Parking Precinct Plan.
There are Activity Centres with an even greater shortage of parking than Westfield, but in most cases the responsible authority ensures that there is ample public off-street parking nearby to compensate..
Manningham Council was offered advice on how to solve its parking problems by employing a cash for parking space program.
It is not too late for Manningham to adopt a similar plan. I know of one vacant allotment, approximately 5,000m2, currently for sale, within a stone’s throw of Westfield that could be purchased for a parking station..
Barbara C.
The Glen Shopping Centre, which has its own parking independent of the Glen Waverley Activity Centre, has more car spaces than what you could poke a stick at.
It has a total of 3,138 car spaces and 194 shops a ratio of 16.17 cars per shop.
Rosemary
The Tower Street site, 230 car spaces, is no longer available for Westfield temporary parking, which leaves 120 car spaces on corner of Doncaster Road and Frederick Street and approximately 210 spaces on the Grosvenor Street land. All three had been issued building permits for high rise development, the latter two several years ago.
Dalray