THE Public Transport Authority will add 200 parking bays between Meltham and Ashfield train stations to replace 180 to be removed at Bayswater station.
The work on carparks is expected to start in September.
PTA advised while some bays will be removed at the station, the northern car park will remain (about 80 bays), but may be reconfigured as part of the works.
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READ NOWMore: Tenders open for Bayswater train station upgrade
There are about 1011 public car bays in the town centre, 246 of these are dedicated commuter bays managed by Transperth.
According to recent meeting minutes of the Metronet community advisory group, PTA project manager Jonathon Shuker advised community representatives about the four broad construction stages.
The carparks mark the first construction stage for the Bayswater station upgrade, which has been allocated a further $146 million in the 2019-20 State budget.
The second stage will be converting carparks on Whatley Crescent into a construction zone for the new station being built west of the existing station.
Stage three involves the removal of the existing station and rail bridge.
The last stage involves road changes to Whatley Crescent and creating a new connection between Beechboro Road South and Whatley Crescent, both expected to take about six months.
Mr Shuker said Meltham and Ashfield stations would be more desirable when the Midland line became an “all-stopping pattern service”, to be introduced in July.
“Recent passenger intercept survey (320 responses) found majority of respondents would park at Meltham station as Ashfield station is in an extra zone,” he said.
“(The PTA) investigated with Transperth if the zone boundaries could change, or if free parking could be made available at Ashfield.
“This is not possible as it would be inconsistent with approaches across the network… it is not possible to change the zone boundary of Ashfield to make it cheaper for a particular group of passengers.”
The City of Bayswater is also undertaking a car management plan for the town centre in light of the station upgrade, with the draft plan to be considered by the council on May 28 before it goes out to public consultation.
Mayor Dan Bull said the City would ask the community how they wanted parking managed before the removal of 180 bays.
“From here, we will create a parking plan to ensure the Bayswater town centre continues to be an attractive place to dine, shop and visit,” he said.
Planning for development continues
Mr Shuker said work was largely within the rail reserve, including the removal of some trees which were “unavoidable for a project of this magnitude”.
“(It is) critical that Bayswater station, rail operations and the local road network remains operating during the project,” he said.
“Some closures, such as weekends and weeknights, will be unavoidable, but will aim to coincide with other rail closures on the line (example, Forrestfield-Airport Link works).”
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Rita Saffioti approved a Planning Control Area for areas surrounding the station on April 23, following the WA Planning Commission’s approval in March.
Development applications in the control area, which extends along the railway reserve to make way for an underpass near the intersection of Whatley Crescent and Leake Street and down to Olfe Street, will be considered by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage instead of the council and the Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel.
While the PCA will not replace the City’s town structure plan, it supports the development of significant State infrastructure by protecting it from incompatible development nearby.