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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-10 Daily Xml
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WESTFIELD MARION CAR PARKING

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (15:35): Westfield recently lodged a development application to introduce paid car parking at its Marion shopping centre. I certainly want to put on the record that I am totally opposed to this application. I recognise that car parking is a valuable resource and that businesses need to manage their parking spaces as they see best fit. However, the Marion triangle is a unique precinct. This precinct is much more than just a retail hub. It is a base for essential health and community services. Located in the centre are Medicare, financial institutions, banks, employment providers, rehabilitation services and community organisations, such as Relationships Australia. The Australian Electoral Commission and Australia Post are also located within Westfield.

The Marion Domain on which the shopping centre sits is home to a community library, a medical and dental centre, the GP Plus, the Inner South Community Mental Health Centre, the blood donor centre, Service SA and the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre. The Domain is the site of the Marion Cultural Centre, which hosts art exhibitions, plays, concerts, cabaret events, award presentations and more. These organisations all provide essential community services. Incredibly, Westfield's website blames the aquatic centre for the application. It says:

At peak times during events, parking arrangements at the SAALC—

which is the aquatic centre—

are not adequate to cope with the increased demand for car park spaces. Westfield has agreed to support the SAALC during these peak times by making a number of parks available to swimming patrons and has successfully trialled a manual system. However, the manual system is not practical in the longer term. Westfield believe that an automated system will be a more efficient and practical solution for customers, swimmers, tenants and their staff.

The aquatic centre has hosted the Australian Short Course Championships and the Australian Masters Games, and I understand that, despite concerns flagged by Westfield, car parking proved adequate. However, if Westfield pursues this application, the aquatic centre, with its own multistorey car park, has no choice but to follow Westfield's lead. If it does not, shoppers will park free at the aquatic centre, making it impossible to access for swimming centre users.

While aquatic centre patrons will continue to access free parking, I have grave concerns about the flow-on effect should this application succeed. Organisations nearby include Families SA, Centrelink, Marion council, the Salvation Army and the Marion Sports and Community Club, which is home to more than a dozen local sporting clubs. All these groups stand to be impacted as people seek parking where they do not have to pay.

Then there are concerns for local residents regarding congestion in surrounding streets. It is certainly a coincidence that Westfield has just introduced a paid parking scheme in south-east Queensland, just a couple of weeks ago in the suburb of Chermside. The impact on local residents was immediate, with surrounding streets filled with parked cars as workers and customers sought to avoid the fees charged by shopping centres. The surrounding suburbs have many narrow streets. If people flock to park in local streets, as in Chermside, every rubbish collection may prove impossible.

Westfield Marion can be accessed by Diagonal, Morphett and Sturt roads. Traffic volumes on these roads are already a major concern for commuters and residents. If boom gates cause further hold-ups, this could create dangerous traffic congestion and increase the likelihood of accidents. It is important that the impact on local traffic is considered before any planning permission is granted.

I note, while Westfield Marion's proposal has a two-hour grace period before charges accrue, Chermside customers get three hours before they part with their dough. Westfield claims that 90 per cent of visitors will not pay for parking, as the majority do not spend more than two hours shopping. A study done by GE Money states that women spend almost 400 hours each year shopping, nearly 50 hours of that just working out what to buy.

There are other costs to consider for young retail workers casually employed for a few hours a week, people seeking a cool spot to shelter on a hot day and for those who need more than two hours to go to the bank, renew their rego, go to the medical centre and do the weekly shop. I call on Westfield to do the right thing by its community and withdraw the application.

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