Parking spaces to be annexed for construction works during $50m Frankston Train Station rebuild
FRANKSTON could be headed for parking meltdown with more than 50 spaces to disappear during the train station rebuild.
South East
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FRANKSTON could be headed for parking meltdown with more than 50 spaces to disappear during the train station rebuild.
Early work on the $50m revamp starts this month, with major construction and a temporary station closure expected between early May and mid-June.
Workers will claim part of the main car park at the rear, usually full by 6am on weekdays, and all of another car park at 122 Young St.
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Frankston councillor Steve Toms said people were already struggling to find a park and the reduction in spaces would cause an “onslaught of pain for traders and locals”.
Cr Toms said while he supported the station rebuild, other options should be investigated to cater for the workers’ vehicles. “This is taking parking out of the hands of locals and into the hands of construction workers. It’s difficult at the best of times,” he said.
Young St traders told the Leader business had only recently picked up following a $13 million street revamp that drove shoppers away and caused an economic downturn.
Trader Natalie Waterworth said she feared any reduction in parking would again deter shoppers and put businesses under further pressure.
Frankston state Labor MP Paul Edbrooke acknowledged there would be short-term parking pain, but said locals had vigorously campaigned for the new station for 40 years. “It’s a very exciting time — soon we will have a new gateway to Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula,” he said.
The $50 million train station redevelopment is being overseen by the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA), which said while it would try to minimise the impact of works, some disruption was unavoidable.
Replacement buses will operate between Frankston and Carrum and on the Stony Point line when the station is closed.
The station redevelopment and Skye/Overton level crossing removal will together involve up to 180 workers. The current station — widely derided as a “neo-industrial mess” — will be demolished for the new Genton Architecture design.