Car parking in Cleveland will be more difficult if Council sells the Doig Street car park for property development
Car parking in Cleveland is being steadily lost by decisions of Redland City Council and the State Government. The result is land is ‘repurposed’ from car parks which the community finds useful to development sites which investors find profitable.
Extract from August 2018 newsletter (mainland edition) issued by Division 2 councillor Peter Mitchell
This is of concern to people who shop and do other business in Cleveland as well as the many commuters who wish to park and ride near the Cleveland Train Station.
The prospect of a punitive fine has become a disincentive to visit Cleveland, for some.
In recent months the Council has indicated that it’s consulting about a Redlands transport strategy with the prospect of additional consultation about parking and transport issues in the Cleveland CBD.
A wise council might have completed such consultation before selling off car parks for property development.
Council sells off community car parks
Plans for redevelopment of the Cleveland Library carpark by Chefs Inc.
Redland City Council secretively created a property company in 2014, Redland Investment Corporation (RIC), to sell off land owned by the community.
Plans to sell off neighbourhood parks caused community outrage and the Council backed down. But the Council has continue to dispose of car parks in the Cleveland CBD.
In the past few years the following Cleveland CBD car parks controlled by Council have been sold off or are the subject of potential development which could reduce parking availability.
All day car parking in Cleveland is being reduced due to Council’s sell off policy
The total number of Cleveland CBD car parking sites potentially impacted by development plans could exceed 500 spaces.
- Doig Street car park: to be sold to facilitate an aged care facility in the Cleveland CBD. Local businesses are not impressed particularly when parking contributions for developments had contributed to the initial purchase of the land. This car park is partly reserved for council staff and so there is limited, but much used public parking.
- Woolies car park was sold to the shopping centre owners Stockland. It leaves long term use of the land up in the air. Again, most users were caught by surprise and assurances that there were no short term development plans for the site did little to satisfy people using the existing facility.
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New development plans for the Wynyard Street car park MCU18/0216
Wynyard Street car park also known as the Coles car park (diagonally opposite Raby Bay Harbourside) was sold to LJ Hooker and at the same time Council promised compensatory car parks (20 lots) to be located near the Redlands Performing Arts Centre. The site was once seen a signature site for Cleveland but more recently a new development application (MCU18/0216) was lodged over the former Council owned land and the assessment will not involve public consultation.
- Cleveland Library car park was set aside for the Chefs Inc alfresco dining experiment. The failure of Chef’s Inc does little to dispel concerns of impacted residents or businesses that other options will be explored for the future use of this car park.
Cleveland Train Station car parking
Cleveland Station car park
As well as loss of Council controlled car parks, there have been proposals which could reduce overall availability of parking at the Cleveland Train Station.
This site, controlled by the State Government, was put out for tender as a possible development site in 2014. The Government’s preferred bidder wanted to build apartments but not much extra car par parking. In 2016 local MP Mark Robinson said he was withdrawing his support for the project, saying:
Frustrated commuters complain that there is never enough parking at Cleveland station.
At a time when governments are encouraging the use of public transport, it has to be questioned why appropriate facilities are not being made available.
In 2017 Redland City Council decided (in response to community reaction) that any development at the Cleveland Train Station would have to provide much more car parking.
Pop those thought bubbles
2016 election promise
Transport planning in Redlands is regularly distorted by thought bubbles – statements of possibility unconstrained by rigorous analysis.
The Council has flagged the possibility of adding extra car parking spaces around the Redlands Performing Arts Centre. This facility is about 500 metres from Bloomfield Street.
Other though bubbles include:
- an election promise that Council will implement a City circle mini-bus service
- gee whiz stories about trialing autonomous vehicles
- the suggestion that “car parks at Cleveland train station serviced by shuttle buses to the terminal would solve the lack of parking at Toondah after Walker Group built its 3600 units”.
Wouldn’t it be better if Council (and the State Government) stopped selling off car parks, the politicians stopped doing thought bubbles and Council staff were allowed to do a proper transport (and car parking) study based on genuine community consultation?
Redlands2030 – 25 November 2018
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
7 Comments
Shops are vacant in Cleveland CBD due to two issues:
1. Rents are too expensive to attract local small business (In some cases they are as dear as thoughts sort in shopping centres that have car parks)
2. Inadequate parking greater than the current 3 hour street and carpark parking. Reduced parking now available in the CBD.
The RCC need to encourage people to shop in Cleveland CBD and encourage small business to the CBD not hinder them by reducing parking space.
The best thing this Council could do is dismantle the unelected Redlands Investment that has been set up to dispose of the council assets. We have turfed out State Governments for trying to sell of State assets and it is about time we do the same to our current council.
Last Coucil election I worked for councillors spruking changes in how the council would work and more transperancy but alas this has not occurred. I will not be working for any candidates at the next election but I will be encouraging everyone to not vote foe ANY of the current councillors.
Shop are vacant in Cleveland CBD due to two issues:
1. Rents are too expensive to attract locals all business (In some cases the are as dear as thoughts sort in shopping centre ha have car parks)
2. Inadequate parking greater than the current 3 hour street and carpark parking. Reduced parking now available in the CBD.
The RCC need to encourage people to shop in Cleveland CBD and encourage small business to the CBD not hinder them by reducing parking space.
The best thing this Counil could do is to dismantle unelected Redlands Investment Corporationthatwas been set up to dispose of the council assets. We have turfed out State Governments for trying to sell of State assets and it is about time we do the same to our current council.
Last Coucil election I worked for councillors spruking changes in how the council would work and more transperancy but alas this has not occurred. I will not be working for any candidates at the next election but I will be encouraging everyone to not vote foe ANY of the current councillors.
It is ridiculous that a parking strategy is even being considered AFTER the decisions to sell of so many car parks. There can be no excuse for such stupid approach unless the proverbial left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing!!!
Reducing car parking in Cleveland takes away one of the few remaining advantages the olde town has left in its race to compete with Victoria Point and Capalaba.
Parking options in Cleveland are a great incentive to shop and socialise in the Cleveland CBD. The councils decisions to sell-off car parking areas seems to be a dollar driven exercise and lacking any sort of public endorsement.
The sale decisions certainly undercut the implications of Councillor Mitchell’s undertakings (in his Newsletters) about transport and parking.
In fact his own action to park his Council car outside the CBD seems an admission that CBD parking is a problem. The sell off of parking places must surely mean things will get worse?
Follow the money.
So what is Dr Mark Robinson doing to preserve current parking at the station and to increase said parking? Is it not time to throw out this useless council which seems he’ll bent on selling off the Redlands at the expense of the residents? Is the council planning to kill off the existing CBD of Cleveland in view of the proposed that they are pushing at Toondah Harbour? There are already a number of high rise projects under way close to the harbour area and one completed for close to a year which appears to be empty.
Seemingly, Council is adopting the well understood traffic demand management strategy of reducing traffic congestion and the use of private vehicles by limiting the number of parking spaces and, usually, by charging parking fees at a level sufficient to discourage parking. This is what Council intended to do to the people of the Bay Islands back in 2008 with its Redland Bay Centre and Foreshore Master Plan, particularly the parking at Weinam Creek.
Islanders fought the Council hard and were instrumental in the change of Mayor and many Councillors at the 2012 elections. The new Council promised to reconsider the Master Plan and did. Islanders continued to lobby and, at last, commonsense seems to have prevailed and Council will adopt the Islander’s long-standing proposal to build a multi-level car park at Weinam Creek to provide the parking needed there now and into the future.
Often, only a concerted, logical, and well founded campaign that has the backing and involvement of the majority of people will achieve the aim.