The mostly empty Theatre Lane carpark. Photo: Nesh Nikolic.
Small businesses hit by the closure of the Theatre Lane carpark in the city have launched a petition to reopen a portion of it, and the Canberra Liberals will take up the issue in the Legislative Assembly this week.
Already struggling with the impact of light rail works on customers, the closure first of the law courts carpark and now the one in Theatre Lane next to CMAG and the Canberra Theatre has businesses fearing for their futures.
The ACT Government closed the Theatre Lane carpark on 14 October for three years to use it as a works compound for the new Lyric Theatre project.
The petition, seen on shopfront windows in the city, calls on the ACT Government to keep at least 60 per cent of car spaces operational throughout construction to balance progress and community impact.
It says the carpark was not being closed for essential construction of the new Lyric Theatre itself but so it could be used as a storage and laydown area, despite alternative options being available.
One of the affected businesses behind the petition and an open letter to the government is Strategic Psychology, on the corner of London Circuit and East Row.
Managing Director Nesh Nikolic said the carpark closure was a fresh blow for the area’s businesses and came with little notice despite years of planning for the theatre project.
Mr Nikolic said he first heard about the carpark closing a month ago at a theatre construction meeting.
He said the lack of convenient parking meant clients were not attending appointments and their continuity of care was disrupted, impacting their mental health.
But the whole area across from the carpark was suffering, and could slump into urban decay.
“We’ve got businesses closing down, it’s not just my own business,” Mr Nikolic said.
Anytime Fitness and 98 Gym members were avoiding the city gyms and going elsewhere, which could make the sites untenable, and a lack of disabled carparks threatened local GPs’ accreditation.
Henry Butler, who owns 3 Degrees Coffee on London Circuit and Bureau in the ACT Government building next to the Assembly, said there had been a dramatic fall in foot traffic since the closure.
“It’s had a really detrimental effect on us,” he said.
“We were 40 per cent down when they put the barricades up originally, but now we’re even further down, and we can see the exact difference because our other cafe is about 500 metres down the road on London Circuit and hasn’t been affected at all by any of the closures.”
Mr Butler has negotiated a month-to-month lease, but may have to close the cafe.
The government says there are more than 5000 parking spaces available across the city and surrounding areas, including the new Nangari Street carpark and 200 spaces on a former works compound on City Hill.
But Mr Butler said they were too far away and inconvenient, and people had simply stopped visiting the East Row and Baileys Corner area.
Mr Nikolic said the businesses supported the Lyric Theatre project but had an issue with its staging and the decision to allow the contractor, Multiplex, to take up the entire carpark.
“One of my frustrations is I’m looking across the carpark right now and it’s completely empty, not being used,” he said.
He said Multiplex could use nearby buildings for its site office, or stack it like companies do in Sydney or Melbourne.
“There are other practical alternatives and we’re not asking for a 100 per cent reinstatement,” Mr Nikolic said.
“I think 60 per cent as a minimum is very reasonable.”
Mr Nikolic urged the public to sign both the petition and open letter to the government.
Kurrajong MLA Elizabeth Lee has sponsored a Legislative Assembly petition, and she and colleague James Milligan will move a motion calling on the government to support a partial reopening of 40 to 60 per cent of spaces throughout the theatre construction period.
The Assembly petition says a full closure for three years is excessive, harmful to local businesses and unnecessary to ensure safe construction.
The Liberals also want the government to guarantee adequate disability and short-stay parking in the Civic cultural precinct during construction and to commit to retaining an offset loading zone in the Theatre Lane carpark that supports local businesses.
The motion calls on the government to table quarterly updates in the Assembly on the progress of construction works and the number of public parking spaces retained in the Theatre Lane carpark.
The Liberals also want the government to undertake regular consultation with businesses and services affected by the closure of the Theatre Lane carpark.
