Doncaster Park and Ride: Manningham Council to push for $24.45m upgrade

It’s one of the worst parts of Melbourne for public transport, but an eastern suburbs council wants to change that with a major upgrade. See the plans.

Manningham Council is pushing for a major upgrade of the Doncaster Park and Ride on Doncaster Rd as part of North East Link works. File picture.

A transport hub in Melbourne’s east has been labelled dangerous at night as calls for it to be improved have fallen on deaf ears

Manningham Council will advocate to the North East Link authority and the state government for a $24.45m overhaul of the Doncaster Park and Ride bus facility while the road project is being constructed.

The authority has committed to a “like for like” upgrade with no increase in parking at the site, which has more than 400 spaces.

The council commissioned two reports from consultants and instead wants to make the Park and Ride a transit-oriented development, with room on the site for an extra 250+ carparks, retail and office space and better cycling and pedestrian links.

“It’s considered that an at grade carpark is an underdevelopment of the site and the NEL works present an opportunity to upgrade the site,” officers wrote.

“Incorporating a range of uses into the Doncaster Park and Ride site such as office, retail, commercial and open space has the potential to result in multiple benefits for Doncaster and the wider Manningham community.”

It is unclear if the council is willing to contribute its own funds to the project.

Cr Laura Mayne told the gallery at the council’s July 26 meeting the Park and Ride needed more lighting and remarked it was “not the best place to be at night at the moment”.

“It’s a great opportunity to add a pocket of retail to an area that doesn’t have very much retail, and create a more safe environment for travellers,” she said.

“It’s not the best place to be at night at the moment, and having a more well lit and improved facility would help this.”

Cr Tomas Lightbody said upgrading the Park and Ride “just makes sense” with other councillors echoing his comments.

“For people coming back from work on a bus from the city, it makes sense they should get all their stuff when they get off the bus and then go home from there,” he said.

“From a liveability perspective, this concept aligns with our vision of how we want our neighbourhoods to function in the future … I put the challenge to the government to do something great with this site.”

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen backed the council’s vision and said the Park and Ride had the potential to be suburban hub similar to some of Melbourne’s railway stations.

“If people can conveniently pick up their shopping on their way home between catching the bus and getting in their car, that means fewer car journeys on the roads,” he said.

“Council should also encourage better walking and cycling access to maximise its use by local residents, and the state government needs to boost bus services to cut waiting times and make it more attractive to travel to and from the interchange.”

The authority is building a $69m park and ride with 370 spaces at Bulleen next to the Eastern Freeway, to be finished by the end of this year.

North East Link chief executive Duncan Elliot did not say if the authority would consider Manningham’s pitch, instead focusing on the Bulleen facility under construction.

“We’ve been working closely with Manningham Council, locals, and other key stakeholders, for more than four years on this project to ensure it meets the needs of the growing community,” he said.

The authority’s planned upgrades to the Doncaster Park and Ride will begin once the Bulleen facility opens.