Glen Eira Multideck Car Parks

A $660 million Commuter Car Park Fund has been established within the Urban Congestion Fund to invest in commuter car park upgrades that encourage greater use of public transport by increasing car park spaces next to train stations. Glen Eira City Council has been offered $20 million by the federal government to deliver projects under the Urban Congestion Fund. To receive the funding, Council must use it for its original purpose which is to design and construct car parking in Elsternwick and Bentleigh near train stations.

Because the distribution of funds under the Urban Congestion Fund was the subject of an Auditor-General’s report which highlighted a number of concerns about the granting process, Council commissioned an independent probity report to review any probity risks associated with utilising the grant money for the delivery of the two car park projects. The probity report concluded that with proper risk mitigations in place, Council should proceed with conducting community engagement to inform the decision-making about progressing (or not progressing) the car park projects.

Council commissioned an independent report by Veitch Lister Consulting to better understand the effectiveness of urban “congestion busting” measures such as commuter car parks, buses and protected bike paths in cities like Glen Eira. We will use the evidence to assist in our decision-making about progressing (or not progressing) the car park projects. The report findings will also be helpful to community members as they consider their feedback during the community engagement phase.

The proposed Elsternwick site is being chosen due to its proximity to the train station and activity centre, and for the minimal impact it will have on the surrounding residential area and sensitive interfaces.

The proposed Bentleigh site is being chosen as it directly borders the train station and is close to the activity centre. This location will have less direct impact to local businesses and residents during the construction phase. The site also offers the opportunity of a potential open space plaza, that would connect to the car park and provide more green space within the Glen Eira community.

Elsternwick is proposed to have a total of 160-200 car parking spaces at the site. All existing 78 car parking spaces will be retained. Bentleigh is proposed to have a total of 300-350 car parking spaces at the site. All existing 142 car parking spaces will be retained. All existing car parking spaces at both sites will be retained to ensure continued parking availability for accessibility to the local activity centres.

The height of the car parks are not yet determined as the project has not reached the design stage. However, Council can confirm the car parks will be no more than three storeys in height.

Following completion of community engagement and review of the responses and feedback, Council will make a decision regarding the next steps for the project in December 2021. If the project progresses beyond December, the subsequent stage would include site due diligence, concept design and further feasibility studies. All aspects of technical design will be included in this stage.

If the proposed projects proceed, concept, scoping and feasibility development will begin in January 2022, with construction likely to commence in January 2023 and conclude in March 2024.

There are a number of benefits associated with commuter car parking which apply not only to the local community but also the broader community. They include but are not limited to:

• Encourage public transport patronage growth
• Reduce broader congestion
• Provide easy access to public transport for people with mobility limitations
• Reduce parking requirements in locations closer towards the CBD
• Reduce the rate of car trips towards the CBD
• Encourage late night and weekend visits to the commercial and retail centres around stations
• Use of car parks as community spaces in off-peak periods
• Minimise the parking overspill onto local streets

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In section 3.1 of the VLC Report, it states that “the increase in capacity park and ride at Bentleigh and Elsternwick can be expected to reduce the rate of car trips towards the CBD by about one third of all new users of the car parks, or in other words, every three new car parks will mean one less longer distance car trip towards the CBD.”

The impact on congestion will be investigated further if Council proceeds to the next project phase.

In section 4.2 of the VLC Report, it states that the “diversion of drivers to park and ride will have a small effect on congestion between the station and the CBD and surrounds as the likely destination, although potentially there will be a small increase in local traffic around the park and ride facilities.” The report goes on to conclude that “we can expect approximately one-third of park and ride users to divert to public transport rather than driving to their destination. This can be expected to generate congestion reduction benefits.” In section 5.4 of the report, it concludes that the slight increase in congestion may be more likely in Elsternwick.

The impact on congestion will be investigated further if Council proceeds to the next project phase.