Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) (19:21): (2058) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public Transport. The action I seek is for the minister to provide me with an update on the progress of the delivery of around 700 additional car parking spaces for the commuters using Craigieburn station. As the minister would know, the Yuroke electorate is experiencing massive population growth, and at the moment we have commuters that are travelling to the station from car parks up to a kilometre away from the station because there are several restrictions on local roads. Whilst we have been able to put in increased car spaces at the station—there are only around 50 at the station and around 100 nearby in Potter Street—those additional spaces have not really stemmed the demand for additional spaces. So the additional 700 that this project will provide, the largest car park expansion in the state’s history, will provide significant relief for commuters that want to use Craigieburn station. It will provide huge relief. It will provide much more accessible parking and much safer parking, and it is going to be warmly welcomed by the community. The community is really looking forward to an update from the minister, and I certainly look forward to sharing a project update with the community.

Response:

I thank the Member for Yuroke for her continued interest in the Andrews Labor Government’s car park program, and commuter parking at Craigieburn in particular. The Government is getting on with delivering an additional 11,000 new and upgraded car parking spaces across the rail network to meet the high demand for parking at stations. This is on top of the close to 10,000 new and upgraded spaces built by the Government since 2014.

I can confirm that the project is currently in tender phase for construction, with appointment of a successful contractor for Craigieburn anticipated to be confirmed by the end of April 2020, and construction anticipated to commence soon thereafter, subject to understanding the implications of the current coronavirus environment.

The new car park will be built along the eastern edge of the Hume Highway directly east of the station and linked to the station via a new footpath. The Craigieburn community was invited to have their say about the car park and in response to feedback received, the accessibility and safety of the car park will be enhanced with CCTV and lighting along the pedestrian path and a new pedestrian crossing installed at Potter Street. In addition, the existing pedestrian crossing over the railway line is proposed to be upgraded as part of the works and new bicycle parking provided.

Hon Melissa Horne MP
Minister for Public Transport
Minister for Ports and Freight