Cafe 127 owner Michelle Matthes, Carolyn’s Boutiques owner Carolyn Mechielsen, Toy Kingdom owner Rod Ferguson and Pakenham Bookshop owner Greg Marshall say the council should already have alternative car parking arrangements in place with the Treloar Lane car park set to close in mid-September.
By Melissa Grant
ABOUT 280 car parks in Pakenham’s retail heartland will be fenced off from mid-next month as work begins on an $80 million shopping complex.
Main Street traders are concerned about the effect the closure of the parking bay on Treloar Lane will have on business, and are outraged the Cardinia Shire Council is yet to provide alternative parking arrangements.
Cardinia Shire chief executive Garry McQuillan says the council has set aside $600,000 for temporary car parking and is in negotiations to secure sites for this near the town centre.
The council is expected to announce alternative car park arrangements shortly, but traders say plans should’ve already been put in place.
“We’re a month away from this fence being built and they’re negotiating,” Toy Kingdom owner Rod Ferguson said.
“It’s (retail hub) always been a long term plan, no matter what happened they should’ve planned for it.
“It should’ve been said and done.
“If we didn’t realise it until the other night, does the community realise?”
Mr McQuillan said the area would be fenced off in the middle of September and the council was working hard to secure land for temporary parks.
Speaking at Wednesday night’s Pakenham Business Group meeting, he said between 140 and 200 temporary parks would be provided depending on the size of the land secured.
Mr McQuillan said it was going to be difficult to satisfy the parking needs of shoppers, construction workers and tradespeople.
“We’re doing everything we can to provide car parks so they (shoppers) can access the Main Street,” he said.
“There will be pain in the interim before it’s done but we’re trying to ease that as much as possible.”
But Pakenham Bookshop owner Greg Marshall said that was little consolation to business owners. Mr Marshall was concerned that consumers would gravitate towards satellite shopping centres when construction on the retail hub started.
“Getting there is going to be painful,” he said.
“Anyone who thinks our businesses won’t suffer is a fool.”
Mr Ferguson said more parking limits and transporting construction workers by bus from a car park away from the CBD to the site would help ease parking pain while the development was built.
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson said the council was looking seriously at implementing extra timed parking zones and warned shoppers to abide by them.
“We will be enforcing parking (limits) and people will be booked,” he said.
Cardinia Shire spokesperson Paul Dunlop assured traders that alternative car parking would be provided.
“With a project of this scale, there is bound to be some disruptions but council is working to ensure the inconvenience will be minimised,” he said.
“There are a range of options being pursued to ensure sufficient car parking is available. Alternative car parking arrangements will be announced shortly.”
