Train stations car parks in Sandringham, Brighton Beach and Balaclava to be scaled back or dumped

Scott Morrison promised to expand car parks at train stations across Melbourne, but some upgrades are now likely to be scaled back or dumped. Find out where.

Three station car park upgrades promised as part of the Morrison Government’s $405 million park and ride project are likely to be scaled back or dumped.

Land woes at the three projects in Sandringham, Brighton Beach and Balaclava — which have $22.3 million in Commonwealth funding attached — are key reasons they face the chop.

Thirty car park upgrades were promised for Victoria at the last election, with only two so far finished, two under construction, and one in South Morang already dumped.

A temporary carpark at South Morang railway station in 2019. Picture: Ellen Smith

The Herald Sun can reveal that multi-level buildings were considered for the majority of the sites in Victoria to try to squeeze in thousands of new car spaces pledged at the 2019 federal election.

Belgrave/Lilydale line projects and those along the Sandringham rail line would be most likely to go sky high due to a lack of land.

Ongoing funding is also a sticking point at some stations, such as at North Brighton where only $2.6 million was promised by the Commonwealth.

One source said you could “spend that on legal fees trying to compulsorily acquire private property in Brighton”.

Mayor of Bayside Council, Laurence Evans, said the Council was doing a feasibility study for the car park promised in Hampton but three other sites in Bayside involved state land and separate assessments were being undertaken this month by the Department of Transport.

Bayside Mayor Laurence Evans

He said the council was “working collaboratively with our state and federal counterparts to utilise the $14 million funding commitment from the Australian Government”.

The Herald Sun has spoken to car park operators who say most of the difficult projects would be possible if multidecks were used.

Chief executive of car park systems designer Parkd, Peter McUtchen, said concrete shells could be built off site by local workers and shipped into place to minimise time and disruption.

“Costs are also minimised due to the speed of construction,” he said.

A spokesperson for the federal infrastructure department said the government was “committed to getting commuter car park upgrades funded through the Urban Congestion Fund underway as quickly as possible”.

“All projects vary in complexity and are required to go through appropriate planning before construction can start, which includes finalising the proposed number of spaces at each site and any land acquisition considerations,” the spokesperson said.

Brighton Beach station area, where a promise to build new car parks is under threat.

A spokesperson for the state’s transport department said it was building 11,000 new spaces at stations but was also assisting the Commonwealth on its promises.

“We’re continuing feasibility assessments at a number of stations, including in Bayside, to inform the Commonwealth on potential projects as part of their commitment.”

Parking Australia chief executive Stuart Norman said the group as supportive of the scheme because “it’s important that Government work to address commuters first and last mile journeys and commuter car parks help do that”.

“Unfortunately while the concept is noteworthy the rollout of the commuter car parks by the all levels of Government has been less than satisfactory and commuters deserve a lot better.”

Only a handful of car parks are expected to be underway or completed by the end of this year, when the next federal election could be held.

The project has also been the target of accusations about pork-barrelling, with the federal opposition referring the fund to the auditor-general who is due to report mid-year.