Staff and residents raise safety concerns as Karrinyup redevelopment starts

THE first day of construction of the Karrinyup Shopping Centre redevelopment has raised serious safety concerns for staff and residents.

Tenant Shelley Greenway, who owns a business in the North Court building, said centre staff were told last Wednesday they would not be able to park on site when construction started on Monday.

They were given a map showing surrounding residential streets they could park on.

“I’m concerned about my staff and what’s going to happen in winter when it’s dark,” Ms Greenway said.

“It is important for the centre manager and the centre itself to create a situation that is workable and safe.”

She said streets were already filling with cars when she tried to park before 8am on Monday and believed her security concerns were dismissed.

Resident Rebecca James said residents had not been informed of the arrangement and though her street was further away and not yet affected, roads including Burroughs and Francis Avenue were already “ridiculous”.

She was worried about children getting to and from school safely with cars blocking views, increased traffic congestion and quality of living impact from “having your street turned into a carpark”, and described the lack of consultation with residents as “deplorable”.

“I think residents would have liked the developer and council to work with them and not just do this to them,” she said.

“To start it without planning properly and just before Christmas (is unsuitable).”

Fiona Arthur lives near Paine Court, which she said was already filled with 30 to 40 cars.

“It’s creating problems at the big intersections as visibility is reduced,” she said.

“You come across pedestrians (walking on the road) as you turn a corner. It’s not very safe.

“It’s just going to be a recipe for disaster.”

Like many residents, Ms Arthur supported the redevelopment but did not think they were well informed or consulted, and were completely unaware their streets were going to be used for parking.

“It wasn’t entirely a transparent process for how we could voice our concerns,” she said.

“It beggars belief they didn’t consider the impact of this on residents.”

What the centre says

AMP Capital’s WA divisional development manager Scott Nugent said they were “committed to being considerate neighbours” during development.

“We are sorry that the strategy we had in place didn’t meet community expectations,” he said.

“We understand our community’s concerns regarding the staff of Karrinyup Shopping Centre parking within the residential area and have quickly looked to find a solution.

“Staff of Karrinyup Shopping Centre will be asked to park at the centre while we work with the City of Stirling to find a more permanent, amicable solution.”

What the City says

According to the City of Stirling, AMP Capital’s project management plan said it would keep residents and the community informed of all aspects of the redevelopment, including staff and customer parking.

Infrastructure director Michael Littleton confirmed the developer was working with the City on a solution to minimise impact on residents, including using the Jeanes-Prisk Reserve as temporary overflow parking from November 26 to January 4 (six weeks) which was used in previous years to manage Christmas shopping parking.

“AMP has also assured the City that a long-term solution will be in place by the end of this period and that they will keep residents and the community informed on any developments in this area,” he said.

“We would like to reassure our community that we’ll continue to work with AMP to make sure any disruption to local residents is minimised, where possible, for the duration of the project.

“We would also like to ask our residents for their understanding and cooperation while works take place and that the community, shopping centre staff and shoppers continue to respect local residents and abide by the City’s local parking laws.”

Mr Littleton said development queries should be directed to the centre on 9445 1122.

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