Car parking a key concern in battleground Victorian seat

Potholes and parking on the minds of Glen Waverley voters as Victorian election nears In short: Voters in the battleground seat of Glen Waverley say the Suburban Rail Loop, potholes and the cost of living are shaping up as key issues ahead of the state election. The east Melbourne seat is held by Labor on a slim 3.3 per cent margin. Victorians head to the polls on November 28. Traders in Melbourne's eastern suburbs are warning that plans to scrap a multi-storey car park will see customers abandon family-run shopping strips in favour of large shopping centres. Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) cost-saving measures mean a proposed 500-space car park in Glen Waverley is up in the air and an underpass is scrapped, leaving motorists to navigate dead-end streets in a precinct dotted with construction work. Parking pressures are just one of several issues flagged by voters in the community, which is among a swathe of key suburban battlegrounds in November's state election. Craig Lane, who has run businesses in central Glen Waverley for more than 30 years, says the shopping strip caters for everyone but traffic is already "bumper to bumper" as motorists look for parking spots. The car parking challenges are being made worse by construction work near the local train station as part of the government's SRL East, which will link Melbourne's south-east and eastern suburbs and has been budgeted at $35 billion. Mr Lane said when the Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) first approached local traders about five years ago, it conceded about 400 car parking spaces would be lost in construction. But it promised a new 500-space, multi-level car park within walking distance of the Kingsway shopping and dining precinct. The car park, station interchanges and walkways were then scrapped as Premier Ben Carroll cut about $1 billion worth of "unnecessary additions" to the SRL last month. Mr Lane said traders and customers needed the extra infrastructure. Without it, he said, patrons could abandon family-run businesses on the local strip for larger shopping centres. "We're not against the SRL, but we need car parking," he said. "Car parking means customers, customers means revenue for all the traders." Seat expected to fall 'pretty quickly' Glen Waverley is held by Labor on a slim 3.3 per cent margin. Former Labor strategist and Redbridge pollster Kos Samaras said he expected the seat to fall "pretty quickly" on election night. He said polling was picking up a swing to the Liberal Party in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and Labor could lose as many as five seats in the area: Glen Waverley, Ashwood, Box Hill, Ringwood and Bayswater. He said he expected the area's strong Chinese-Australian community and investment in local infrastructure would help the Labor vote. Asked about the car parking shortfall, the government said it would find "alternative ways to deliver sufficient parking in Glen Waverley". A Suburban Rail Loop spokesperson said the government was working closely with traders to deliver support during SRL East construction. "We are continuing to work with the City of Monash to determine the best long-term parking solution for the Glen Waverley community once the SRL station is open in 2035," the spokesperson said. Liberal MP Richard Welch told parliament his party's local candidate was campaigning hard on the issue. "The businesses have been living on the hope of this promise being fulfilled, and it was meant to have been fulfilled already. It has not been," he said. "It is absolutely appalling. "I can tell you now: the business community will not forget or forgive this." In June, the SRLA opened 221 new ground-level car parks just south of Glen Waverley station at Myrtle Street. This month, tunnelling began between Burwood and Glen Waverley, and construction has started on stations at Burwood, Glen Waverley, Clayton and Monash ahead of an expected opening in 2035. Potholes causing headaches Parking is not the only road-related issue driving voters ahead of the November state election. Around the corner from the Kingsway precinct, cars drive down High Street Road at 60 kilometres an hour, some changing lanes at the last minute to avoid a 15-metre pothole. Bronwyn Bennett has reported it to the state authorities who manage the road several times over several years. "It started as a smaller hole. It's now what we call a sinkhole,"she said. "I've been waiting to see when there's going to be a car accident." The issue – which Ms Bennett said worsens by the day – was thrust into the spotlight when an audit found almost half of Victoria's state-managed roads were in very poor condition earlier this month. When the local Monash City Council asked residents to report potholes last month, it received hundreds of reports. In a social media post, mayor Stuart James said 12 potholes identified on council-managed roads were fixed within four days. "As expected, most of the roads people reported were actually managed by VicRoads/DTP, generally our major arterial roads," he said. Unaffordable house prices About two-and-a-half kilometres from the shopping strip, parents and their young children congregate in Napier Park soaking the late afternoon sun. The park, which links to the Dandenong Creek Trail, an off-leash dog park and the Glen Waverley Sports Hub, is a desirable facility for homeowners living in the area. "It's convenient and very family-oriented," mother-of-three Preetha Sree said. But home-buyers here are also feeling the pinch, with Mr Samaras identifying cost-of-living as another key issue for voters. While Melbourne's higher value homes have a softening median value of $1.2 million, according to Cotality's September data, the current median house value in Glen Waverley is more than $1.6 million. Ms Sree has been living in the suburb for almost 10 years and was introduced to the suburb by family and friends who have already lived there. She said the suburb’s good reputation meant properties were quickly becoming unaffordable. "I just get worried about my kids. I'm not sure how they are going to afford a house on their own one day," she said. For long-time homeowner Tiffany Yang, living in the area means access to better schools for her young children. "We are very lucky to choose the area [early on]," Ms Yang said. Loading...