A SITE which could help solve car parking issues at Kananook Station has been compulsorily acquired by Frankston Council.
A former car yard on 39 Wells Road near the Frankston Basketball Stadium in Seaford has been purchased by council. The Times understands that one use being considered for the site is car parking for the nearby train station.
The mayor Kris Bolam said that council has acquired the site and that it is “exploring land usage options to support the precinct”.
“Council believes the site has great potential for the local community as it is located adjacent to Frankston Basketball Stadium, Kananook Reserve and Kananook Station and within close proximity to major arterial roads, pedestrian and cycling facilities, residential housing, a commercial precinct and catering to nearby recreation users,” Cr Bolam said.
Frankston Council did not respond to a question sent by The Times asking about the cost of the site to ratepayers.
The federal government abandoned its election promise to build more car parking at Seaford and Kananook stations earlier this year. At the time, a spokesperson for the urban infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher said “based on advice from the Victorian government and local councils, the Commonwealth has withdrawn funding from a small number of projects where the Victorian government or relevant local council has advised that the project cannot be delivered with the funding committed or where there was no feasible site or design options. This includes the Seaford and Kananook commuter car parks” (“Scrapped car park plans a broken promise” The Times 25/5/21).
In the weeks that followed, council issued a statement saying that it was continuing to work on potential solutions to the car parking funding issue. “We feel we have a fantastic proposal that will significantly alleviate the commuter car parking shortfall throughout Frankston and Seaford which we will continue to explore with the minister,” Cr Bolam said in July (‘Rocky road to more station car parking” The Times 13/7/21).