Car park promises still unmet

THE is issue car parking in Ballarat’s CBD has come up again after workers at GovHub created a petition demanding increased spaces.

Five years after the State Government pledged 1000 new and free car parking spaces in Ballarat, some GovHub workers are saying they must park up to a 20-minute walk away from the building and need to leave home hours before their shift starts to get a space.

The petition was accepted by City of Ballarat council at the most recent meeting, however one councillor said the matter is largely a State Government responsibility.

“I will highlight to the community as council here tonight that the State Government is responsible for providing car parking for their staff,” said Cr Amy Johnson.

In the five years since the 1000 new free carparks pledge it appears there has been a net loss of spaces, with approximately 275 lost in the building of GovHub, 300 gone following the closure of the Creswick Road car park and about 20 taken in beautification works on Sturt Street.

Currently 113 of the 1000 spots promised by the State Government have been made available at White Flat Oval and on Havelock Street.

This creates a net loss of approximately 482 car parks.

The City of Ballarat were unable to provide exact numbers on carparking spaces from 2018 until now.

As part of the 1000 carparks pledge 400 spaces are to be built by 2026 at the Ballarat Base Hospital and a further 36 on Market Street.

That would mean total of 451 of the 1000 carparks unaccounted for, with 210 spots located at GovHub currently inaccessible to the public.

The car parks were promised by the State Government before the 2018 election were to make up for the ones lost due to GovHub and the increased demand by new workers.

Member for Wendouree, Juliana Addison, said that State Government will deliver these 1000 car parks.

“We are very pleased to be delivering 1000 new free spaces for Ballarat and it’s very important we get on with delivery of this,” she said.

“We know that Grampians Health is the largest employer in Ballarat, and we know people need parking at the hospital for work and appointments, so we’ve listened to the community and are putting in 400 new free spaces.”

She said that the remaining 451 carparks will be delivered, but it’s important the job is done correctly.

“Stage two works consist of more multi-level car parks and works are still being finalised for those,” said Ms Addison.

“We know that Ballarat is a shopping hub and a hub of services, so we know a lot of people want to be able to drive to Ballarat for that.

“We want to make sure that the car parks we are investing in are in the best interests of our community and out city now and well into the future.”