SA Budget 2018: Park ‘n’ ride plans for Paradise and Golden Grove, but not for Klemzig and Tea Tree Plaza
THE struggle for carparks at Golden Grove and Paradise is set to be lessened inside the next two years — but two other planned park ‘n’ rides at Klemzig and Tea Tree Plaza have no timeline.
- SA Election 2018: Liberals promise Paradise Park ‘n’ Ride if they win
- 2014: Paradise park ‘n’ ride to be axed after parking tax dies
THE struggle for parks at the Paradise interchange will be eased inside two years, Transport Minister Stephan Knoll says.
The State Government will allocate $18.5 million for park ‘n’ rides to be built at Golden Grove and Paradise in next week’s State Budget.
But other park ‘n’ rides promised for Klemzig and Tea Tree Plaza have been put on the back burner until the Paradise and Golden Grove upgrades were completed.
Labor transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis said the Government had “cut” the Klemzig and Golden Grove upgrades, because planning and design contracts had already been awarded to the Public Transport Projects Alliance.
“The park ’n’ ride facilities at Klemzig and Tea Tree Plaza are hugely popular and are often jam-packed with cars. This is terrible news for the people of the northeastern suburbs,” he said.
Mr Knoll said the Paradise upgrade would be completed in 2020, but would not provide a timeline for the other three park n’ ride upgrades.
The Golden Grove and Paradise upgrades were a key promise by the Liberal Party in the lead up to this year’s state election, as it sought to fight off Nick Xenophon in the seat of Hartley.
Mr Knoll said the park ‘n’ rides would mean 300 more parks would be available at Paradise, increasing its total capacity to 775.
It will also bolster Golden Grove’s parking capacity by 220 spaces, with 400 spots to be available once the upgrade is finished.
“Currently, many commuters are left frustrated due to the lack of parking at Paradise interchange, forcing them to park on the busy main road or spill over into side streets in the area,” he said.
“Approximately 5,300 people board buses at the Paradise interchange every day so there’s a real need for increased parking.”
He said the park ‘n’ rides would encourage more people to use the O-Bahn services.
The Paradise park ‘n’ ride was originally promised and funded by the Labor Party, but scrapped when its car park tax did not get the support of the state’s Upper House.