Graham Street parking decimated - Shire to adopt wide-sweeping plan for Wonthaggi’s CBD

THE shopping centre in Graham Street Wonthaggi will lose 39 of its 141 car parking spaces under a plan to go before the Bass Coast Shire Council for adoption this Wednesday, July 19.

Under the plan, two spaces in four will be lost, right along the street, between McBride Avenue and Bilson Street, to make way for trees and beautification works.

And that’s without consulting with the Wonthaggi Business and Tourism Association (WBTA), we are told, which has nonetheless urged council to replace the lost spaces in close proximity to Graham Street.

It’s just one of the many proposals contained in the Wonthaggi Activity Centre Streetscape Master Plan expected to receive council approval this week.

Secretary of the WBTA, Steve Curtis, said the association welcomed many of the proposals contained in the master plan, including proposed beautification works in Graham Street but feared the impact of lost car parking on retailers and also on the large number of shoppers who called for more car parking near the shops they like to visit.

“The business association is in favour of beautification so long as council makes up the lost parking elsewhere, in close proximity,” said Mr Curtis.

“But the last I saw, there’s no plan to offset the lost parking,” he said.

Mr Curtis also said council had failed to consult with the business community of Wonthaggi about the proposed loss of parking spaces and what to do about it.

In a document that addresses everything from traffic movement, pedestrian safety and electric vehicle charging to the choice of street trees, street art and event spaces, the plan also contains 186 references to parking, including the importance of providing parking outside shops and cafes.

“While it was clear that people want greener, more walkable streets, it is also important to recognise that some people simultaneously said they would also like more car parking outside shops,” according to the report.

“There is an obvious tension between these factors, as additional green space and pedestrian friendly streets will in many cases come at the expense of car parking. The fact that ‘more car parking outside the shops I like to visit’ almost made it into the top four is curious given that a feature of Wonthaggi is that it is already the case that car parking has been maximised outside every shop on

McBride Avenue and Graham Street, and that it is not possible to provide additional parking in these locations due to the 45° angle alignment of the parking bays.

“Nevertheless, this response may simply reflect the common preference that people have to be able to park directly outside their final destination.

“Interestingly, more car parking outside shops was only desired by those going to cafés and those who worked in Wonthaggi.”

Long-time Graham Street trader, Carl Lindsay of Wrench’s Footwear, acknowledged that Graham Street needed beautification, but was frankly surprised so many spaces were going to be lost.

“Surely, they don’t need to take out so many. As part of any plan, they’d have to provide a solution,” Mr Lindsay said.

“And the obvious one is the old secondary college site.

“What they should do as part of this plan is erect a multi-story carpark, for say 150 cars, on the old basketball court at the corner of Baillieu Street East and McBride Avenue.”

Mr Lindsay said people couldn’t always expect to park outside their shop of choice, but having enough parking within easy walking distance was a must.

“It’s hard to calculate but I’d say each of these carparks would be worth between $30,000 and $50,000 annually in convenience trade to us, so it’s an extremely important issue to consider when taking away car parking spaces for trees and the like.”

The report notes that in the ‘Wonthaggi Activity Centre Plan 2021’, provision of a centrally located multi-level parking project was canvassed.

“Consolidate car parking through potential development of multi-level parking that will meet future parking demands. However, Institute of Sensible Transport notes that supporting development that meets parking demand rather than controls parking demand can lend to development that encourages visitors to Wonthaggi Activity Centre to drive. The implications of multi-level car parking developments should be considered with caution.”

The master plan does, however, stress that traders be consulted with in the implementation phase.

“Consultation and engagement with the community and traders should be undertaken to inform subsequent planning, detail design, construction and ongoing maintenance works projects. It is recommended that where existing on-street car parking is being removed - for the introduction of street trees, pedestrian crossings or other infrastructure upgrades - that the loss is offset with the implementation of on-street car parking elsewhere within the study area to ensure there is no net loss of car parking within the Wonthaggi Activity Centre.”