By Violet Li
The nearly-completed Cranbourne Community Hospital is said to have a substantial shortfall in carparking, Casey Council has revealed.
Casey Council endorsed a recommendation at August’s council meeting to write to Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas and Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards to outline its “significant” concerns regarding the provision of car parking for staff, users, and visitors of the new hospital.
The hospital, next to Casey RACE, is delivered by the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) in partnership with Monash Health.
The relevant council report pointed out that the preliminary parking analysis, which required a minimum of 300 carparking on-site, underestimated parking demand.
The undersupply issues might also be heightened if the future operator Monash Health implemented paid parking, the report stated.
Casey administrator Cameron Boardman said at the meeting that the insufficient supply of car parking would have a substantial impact on the broader Casey Complex precinct.
“We acknowledge that there is a number of allocated carparking spaces to be constructed as a consequence of the hospital, but we also note that, adjacent to the area, there are numerous currently free carparking spaces for users of the recreational facilities, and that is definitely something that council wants to maintain and preserve,” he said.
“We also want to ensure that the correspondent articulates options to be considered for additional carparking to adequately meet the anticipated demands of the hospital.”
Mr Boardman said the council might need to consider measures to ensure that its own parking spaces were protected for staff and users of sporting and community facilities.
“This is something that we’re seeking direct ministerial intervention in,” he said.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said construction was continuing on the multi-million-dollar Cranbourne Community Hospital.
“Approximately 300 carparking spaces will be provided as part of the project, supporting the Cranbourne Community Hospital when it opens,” they said.
“We’re continuing to work with the City of Casey council to ensure carparking for the Cranbourne Community Hospital complements the carparking already available at the Casey Complex and servicing the sporting and community facilities already on the site.”
City of Casey chief executive officer Glenn Patterson said the process to develop a car parking strategy had commenced, and the council was eager to continue discussions with Monash Health to resolve these and other car parking matters, including advocating to Monash Health to not deploy paid parking for their site.
“It is essential that we address concerns around car parking supply and management to ensure that local residents and users of council’s adjacent sporting and community facilities, including Cranbourne Library, Casey RACE and Casey Stadium, are not negatively impacted,” he said.
Cranbourne Community Hospital will be completed near the end of 2024.
