Car-park problems forecast

Press, 3 February 1982, Page 6

Car-park problems forecast

The problems created by a proposed new parking lot near the Merivale Mall would be worse than the ones the parking lot would solve, a planning tribunal was told yesterday. Mr D. M. Palmer, counsel for the Christchurch City Council, said it must be acknowledged that there was a parking problem at the Merivale shopping centre. The issue was. whether it was better to provide more offstreet parking, or to leave the situation as it was. The council considered that the provision of 24 extra parking spaces at the intersection of Aikmans Road and Akela Street was acceptable. However, it could not accept a proposed 101-space parking lot near the intersection of Office Road and Papanui Road.

The planning tribunal, chaired by Judge Skelton, is hearing several applications in relation to the proposed development of the two parking sites.

The Merivale Precinct Society has appealed against the City Council’s decision to allow G.U.S. Properties, Ltd, to use the Aikmans Road site for parking. G.U.S: Properties has appealed against the council’s rejection of its ap-

plication to use the bigger Office Road site for a car park. Mr Palmer said that the proposed developments had attracted more attention from nearby residents, than was usual. Their preferences were important because they had to live with the problem. A senior town planner with the Christchurch City Council (Mr M. J. G. Garland) said that the use of the Aikmans Road site for parking was acceptable provided the extra parking room was not used as justification for the development of more commercial floor space. The site was within the block now used for the Merivale Mall car-park. Mr Garland said he had reservations about the Office Road site because it meant that the existing commercial area in the shopping centre would be extended further along Papanui Road. It would expose five houses and the St Albans Methodist Church to commercial development. The Merivale shopping centre was popular at the moment, but its popularity could drop off as competition developed. Four other shopping malls, the Barrington; St Martins, Linwood, and

Shirley Malls, could grow on a similar scale to Merivale. Because of this, parking demands at Merivale should be estimated conservatively. Redevelopment of older properties within the block occupied by the mall would be preferable to expansion of the mall car park into residential areas.

. A traffic engineer with the Christchurch City Council, Mr D. L. Bush, told the hearing that the parking and general traffic conditions at Merivale might restrict the commercial activity in the area. This would benefit local residents.

Traffic management policies brought in last year had already improved traffic conditions, he said. The smaller car-park oh Aikmans Road was acceptable, but the bigger park on Office Road would have an impact on vehicle and pedestrian traffic and would have few long-term benefits for the area.

While the 101-site car-park would reduce the number of cars‘parked on surrounding streets, it could also attract more shoppers and cars to the area.

A survey had shown that each car-park at Merivale

generated 22 car movements each day. The new park would result in 2000 extra car movements on Office Road each day. Access to the park would be from Office Road, which would cause congestion at the intersection with Papanui Road.

There would also be an estimated 3000 people crossing Office Road to and from the mall each day. Under cross-examination, Mr Bush said that he could see no significant objection to a proposal to use the carpark for staff only, provided adequate controls could be established.

An earlier witness for G.U.S. Properties, Mr P. T. McCombs, said that extra off-street parking at Merivale would attract only a little more traffic. The Office Road car park would not increase congestion on the road because cars already used the road.

Having the extra car-parks would reduce the on-street parking problems in the area. In peak times now lines of cars extended about 150 metres down Aikmans Road, Office Road, and Cox Street. The proposed park would clear the frontages of about 50 houses down those streets. Even with the proposed

car parks, there would be a short-fall of car parks during peak hours. Mr McCombs agreed that car parks caused problems such as noise, dust, vehicle pollution, rubbish, vibration, vandalism, and hooliganism. But residents near the shopping centre had experienced those problems for years and the extra car parking areas would contain those problems near the mall.

The hearing, which will continue this morning, heard evidence from two local residents and from a member of the St Alban’s Methodist Church board of trustees (Mr M. P. Setchell).

Mr Setchell said that the church objected to the Office Road car-park because it was next to the church’s north wall. The park brought the possibility of damage from . vibration, dust, and vandals. .Of particular concern was the possibility of damage to the church’s rose window and two new instruments, a concert grand piano and an organ which were worth $62,000. Increased traffic noise would, interfere with services and rule out the use of the church for recital performances and recording.