Fremantle Drive carriageway maybe narrowed under an option the government has for easing a parking problem of its own making in Stirling. The government recently leased vacant land in Fremantle Drive for use as an aged care facility with construction to start in 2010. That land has, until now, been used for overflow parking for up to 300 cars that cannot be accommodated the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s current on-site parking at the old Stirling College site.
The WCCC has now seen advice that outlines the solution to future parking needs as   if required Fremantle Drive will be able to accommodate on-street parking with negligible impact on traffic flowsâ€. The solution does not appear to have taken into account, or to be concerned about, how the aged folk at the new facility will cross the congested street to catch the bus or return to the aged facility from the bus stop, the impact of the proposed pedestrian refuge in the centre of the roadway or the impact of buses trying to negotiate a narrower Fremantle Drive.
One other option also under consideration is to convert Fremantle Drive’s two lanes to three to accommodate on-street parking by reducing each current road lane by 30% to accommodate the new parking lane.
The Department of Education and Training is also exploring the provision of parking at the back of the teaching centre and also using ‘government-owned’ parking at the netball courts and Stirling Oval for this overflow.
Parking in Weston Creek is already of concern with the government in denial on the parking difficulties at Cooleman Court and now opting for the “easy solution” for parking problems at its Centre in Stirling.