NEW car parks have been ordered for South Beach to ease pressure on Wilson Park, but a group of nearby apartment residents say the decision has been “rushed through” without consultation.
Plans from the City of Fremantle released last week show an additional 46 bays along Ocean Drive towards the southern end of the beach.
Nearby Islands Apartment resident Rob Dunn says the “ridiculous” new parking will make it difficult for apartment residents to access their own homes, especially during the busy summer months.
• The council’s plan to add 46 extra bays of parking at South Beach.
“To get into our property, which is in Cockburn council, we have to go through Ocean Drive which abuts onto the current carpark, and that can get pretty damn busy in summer,” Mr Dunn said.
“Now they’re going to put car bays either side of Ocean Drive leading into our entry into the property, so in summer it’s going to be nearly impossible to get in and out of our driveway.
“It’s just ridiculous.”
Mr Dunn says the City of Fremantle “never approached” the apartment residents who use Ocean Drive and says the parking was “swept through” without consultation.
“I think the CEO has to come clean and tell us what’s going on and how it got pushed through without approaching us… it’s the entry to our property, so it really is going to affect everyone,” Mr Dunn said.
“They’re saying it’s to help alleviate the car parking in Wilson Park, but you’re only talking about making 40 car bays, and Wilson would probably hold 200, so that’s not going to stop it at all.
Full access
“Right now we’ve got full access, and the only thing we’ve got is people coming into that car park which can be a bit rough at times but we put up with it…what they’re doing now is just going to multiply that so much.”
In an announcement on its website, the City said the plan was to “alleviate” parking on Wilson Park.
“While carpark extensions were not specified in the original place plan, they were to be reviewed and subsequently the City has listened to community feedback and decided to increase the capacity of the carparks,” the announcement read.
The residents will be holding a meeting on Friday to brainstorm potential solutions to put to the City and CEO Glen Dougall, according to Mr Dunn,
“The residents from the towers and residential area behind it, we’re talking a couple of hundred people, will be gathering to see what we can do,” he said.
“We believe that the Fremantle council already booked the contractor and are ready to go ahead, and we just have to think of a way to delay this until we speak to them
“That’s all we want, to speak to the CEO and ask him to reconsider…they’re saying it’s to take the pressure off Wilson’s parking, but they’re putting all the pressure on us.”
Fremantle Society president John Dowson also isn’t a fan of the plan.
A regular South Beach user, he says there is already a dangerous mix of pedestrians and cars in the two car parks, and he fears adding parking bays along Ocean Drive will make it worse.
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER