In late 2015, I started a community campaign to get Coles to improve the poor condition of their supermarket carpark in Maylands. I met with a representative of the property owner (a company called Charter Hall) and presented to him a list of existing issues and possible solutions, which I collected after consulting people on my Facebook page. The requests were realistic and reasonable, and Charter Hall promised to work through them.
Following that meeting, they took steps to address one of the issues: installing several stop signs and line marking to direct the traffic in a circular movement, in an attempt to improve the flow of cars.
After being elected as a Councillors, I was also able to get Charter Hall to agree to install a new zebra crossing (with new pram ramps!) at the Caledonian Ave entry to the carpark, as well as getting the City to install a new bike rack adjacent to Coles and plant trees on the verges on both sides of Coles.
I will continue to push Coles & Charter Hall to deal with the other issues in the carpark:
1. There’s still issues with the layout of the Falkirk Ave entrance, which creates more of a bottleneck in peak time.
2. There needs to be a better link to the rear car park, to encourage people to use its spare parking bays at peak times.
3. Pedestrian paths (including crossings) should be improved at the Falkirk Avenue entrance, to reduce the chaos and protect people from traffic. Dropping the kerbs of the existing footpaths from nearby streets would allow wheelchair and pram access. Many people with disabilities currently cannot easily access the store, which is not acceptable.
4. Poor lighting after dark.
I know that the carpark can be a nightmare (especially at peak times). It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to get them to build a whole new carpark. Nevertheless, if you have further suggestions, please feel free to share them with me.
Below are previous posts on this issue (starting with the most recent post):
Councillor Elli Petersen-Pik, City of Bayswater - South Ward 