Transport and Road Congestion
Chadstone Shopping Centre was designed as a car-based centre when this was the norm and it remains highly dependent on cars for customer access. The centre has more than 9300 car parking spaces and the proportion of staff and customers arriving by car continues to grow: between 2002 and 2011 the share of customers arriving by bus fell sharply from 17% to 12%, while the proportion of those walking or cycling fell from 5% to 3%. Planners now acknowledge it would be a major challenge to reverse the trend.
The independent planning panel that in 2012 reviewed Stonnington Council's proposed C154 planning scheme amendment relating to Chadstone's expansion plans said the centre contributed to "significant traffic issues" in the area, with traffic on nearby major arterial networks heavily congested and intersections "close to saturated at peak times". The panel's report said problems also arose from overflow parking in nearby streets at peak times such as Christmas and major sales, and that the local community had expressed concerns that future growth at Chadstone would worsen the problem. The panel concluded that the ability to further expand floor space would be limited unless road capacity was enhanced through major arterial roadworks and a substantial shift in the mode of transport for visitors and staff.
Traffic congestion also impacts on the 14 bus routes that service the shopping centre, including two higher frequency Smart Bus routes. Buses often take 15 minutes to travel to or from Holmesglen, 1.8km away. The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), which is campaigning for improved public transport in and around the centre, says buses are slow, often travelling less than 10 km/h (6 mph) in the area and are often overcrowded. Services for many bus routes are infrequent after hours and on weekends.
The nearest railway stations are at Hughesdale and Oakleigh on the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines and Holmesglen on the Glen Waverley line. Hughesdale station is about 10 minutes' walk from the shopping centre; Holmesglen is about 30 minutes. Submissions to the 2012 planning panel by the PTUA and Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA) supported an extension of the Alamein railway line to Oakleigh railway station via Chadstone for either light or heavy rail services and the RACV has also asked the state government to consider providing an underground rail link. Stonnington Council has proposed a Municipal Strategic Statement and Local Planning Policy in which it would seek a fixed rail link to Chadstone Shopping Centre. State government transport authority Public Transport Victoria also views a rail link to Chadstone as desirable, but says the cost of building one would be "prohibitive".
Read more about this topic: Chadstone Shopping Centre
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