For public transport purists, the city’s heaving commuter car parks are signs of defeat. An admission the network of buses, trains, metro and light rail that crosses Sydney is imperfect, failing to stretch its tendrils to the neighbourhoods of all residents.
Even though Metro North West’s extension into the CBD has transformed the way that people living in the Hills and Blacktown regions travel, its opening brought traffic jams, with the commuter car parks at its stations filled before sunrise. It makes sense: its stations are being used by the thousands of people living in new developments which sprawl several kilometres from the tracks.
Despite the exciting new developments in Sydney’s public transport network, to get around in this town, most still need a car.
Perhaps one day, with more investment in metro, electric buses, and forms of active transport such as walking and cycling, that will change. In some inner suburbs, it already has: both the City of Sydney and Inner West councils are in discussions about what to do with some of their underused car parks, considering proposals for how they can be better used. Last month, Inner West Council backed a plan to convert five car parks into a possible 350 new social housing residences.
With that context, it seems odd to describe a car park as any sort of urban planning innovation or sustainable development or, more romantically, a symbol of hope.
On the surface, Campbelltown train station’s new commuter car park is nothing special. That’s not to say it is not a welcome arrival: the $25 million structure has 506 spaces, more than doubling the parking available at the T8 Airport & South Line station, which services the city’s rapidly growing Macarthur region, 50-odd kilometres from Sydney CBD.
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But, as Julie Power reported in the Herald on Saturday, this new car park has a secret.
Hill Thalis Architects have designed it to allow for adaptive reuse for commercial, cultural or residential purposes instead of being razed.
It is a feat managed through the design’s details and dimensions: the stairs in the building’s corners have been configured so they can be adapted and lifts and or lobbies added, and the ground floor includes connection points for plumbing, sewerage and grease traps so it could be used for a bike hub, cafe or retail.
