What is a Master Plan?

    A master plan is a strategic document that sets the long-term vision for an area. It focuses on how a place will look in the future and creates a framework for how to achieve this vision. 

    A range of factors are considered when developing a master plan. These include community input, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic considerations. 

    Master plans are dynamic documents which require regular review. This ensures they meet the changing needs of the community.  

    What will be considered within the City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plan

    Key focus areas for the City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plan are:

    • Movement - The way we travel to, and move around, our City Centre.
    • Character - How we celebrate and embrace Mandurah's points of difference.
    • Activity - How we create a city centre environment that invites people to work, live, learn and play.

    Why are we preparing a Master Plan?

    Over the years there have been several strategic plans that have guided the development of the City Centre.  These include the Mandurah Revitalisation Strategy, and the Foreshore Focus 2020 plans.   

    It is now time to review, update and connect all the previous work and current projects for the City Centre into one clear vision for the area.  This vision should reflect the current and future needs of our community. 


    What is a City Centre Parking Plan?

    A City Centre Parking Plan (CCPP) is a document that assesses the existing parking within the City Centre, forecasts demand for future parking and includes a series of short, medium and long-term recommendations and actions. This will help guide decision making on the management of existing car parking and the timing, prioritisation and provision of car parking related infrastructure, for the next 10 years.


    Why do we need a City Centre Parking Plan?

    We know that parking is a key issue for our community. We also know that the City Centre is expecting increased growth, along with ongoing residential infill within Central Mandurah. This will place increased pressure on car parking over time.  

    The development of a City Centre Parking Plan will help to:

    • better understand car parking supply and demand in the City Centre;
    • meet the City’s goals in relation to travel demand management and sustainable transport;
    • maximise the capacity of, safety of and access to existing car parking;
    • set actions to better manage existing car parking, before additional provision; 
    • formulate a way to accommodate the reasonable needs for additional car parking, where and when necessary, guided by objective and repeatable data collection; and
    • ensure any future parking provision complements the unique environmental and amenity features of the City Centre and the built form.

    How do the City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plan relate?

    The two projects are strongly aligned. The Master Plan will set the vision for the future of the city centre and outline recommendations related to the three key focus areas of movement, character and activity.    

    Parking is one component of how the city centre operates from a movement perspective and has been highlighted as an area of interest by the community in the past. 

    What areas will be included in the Master Plan and Parking Plan?

    The City Centre Master Plan will focus on the following four precincts:

    • Precinct 1 - City Centre Core 
    • Precinct 2 - City Centre North
    • Precinct 3 - Western Foreshore Precinct, incorporating Henry Sutton, The Western foreshore, and Sutton Farm 
    • Precinct 4 - Marina Commercial/Residential

    Whilst areas beyond these precincts will not be considered within the scope of the Master Plan, connections and linkages between each precinct will be considered

    The Parking Plan will focus on precincts 1, 2 and 3. Precinct 4 has not been included in the parking plan. This is because extensive work has previously been done on parking in this area.

    How can the community get involved?

    The City Centre is the heart of our city, and we want to hear from our community on the areas that are important to you.

    We want to work with the community and stakeholders to help guide the vision and aspirations for Mandurah’s City Centre and Parking Plan.

    Throughout the development of these plans, there has been multiple opportunities to have your say through a variety of engagement activities. These activities will include digital engagement, workshops, pop-up engagement and liaison with technical consultants, City Officers, site occupants and key stakeholders. 

    We are now at the stage of advertising the draft plan and information on making a submission is available on the main page for the project.

    Do I have to live in the area to participate?

    Anyone with an interest in the Mandurah City Centre is welcome to participate in the online survey or register to attend the facilitated workshops. 

    Whether you are a resident, visitor, business owner or employee - we would love to hear from you.

    How can I provide feedback?

    Throughout 2022, we asked our community to help shape our City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plan.

    The draft City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plans have now been developed, along with a Wayfinding Strategy, Place and Design Principles, and an Engagement Outcomes report which summarises all the input received throughout the engagement process.  

    We are now keen to hear our community’s feedback on the draft City Centre Master Plan and Parking Plan.

    Want to hear from you! Submissions can be made via the survey on this page.

    Alternatively, via post to: City of Mandurah, PO Box 210, Mandurah WA 6210

    Your feedback will be used to inform any further changes to the Master Plan and Parking Plan, before to the Plans being considered for adoption by Council. 

    How much public parking is available in the City Centre?

    Just over 2000 on and off-street bays in the City Centre (not including the Marina):

    • Precinct 1, City Centre Core - 850 bays
    • Precinct 2, City Centre North - 980 bays
    • Precinct 3, Western Foreshore Precinct - 180 bays

    The majority of this parking is within a 5 minute walk of the main foreshore areas.

    What is Parking Management?

    Parking management refers to how parking bays are controlled through a variety of different measures, to utilise the available car parking in the most efficient way possible. This can be done in a variety of ways including:

    • the provision of wayfinding signage to make navigation and access to car parks easier;
    • by making improvements to existing car parks to address potential barriers for under-use in certain locations such as safety, lack of pedestrian connections, etc;
    • the use of timed parking to create more ‘turnover’ of cars, so that one car parking space can be used by as many cars as possible each day in high-demand locations; and
    • the use of technology to ensure compliance with timed parking arrangements;
    • the introduction of paid parking; and
    • the provision of additional car parking.

    Can more car parking be provided?

    As our population grows, so does the number of vehicles using our roads and streets. This creates, and will continue to create, peak period traffic and parking pressures, which need to be managed.

    It is acknowledged that cars are an essential form of transport for many members of our community, but it is also recognised that it is impossible to provide more and more car parking to meet increasing demand. It is a necessary and worthwhile goal, to try and reduce the proportion of trips taken by car and to increase the number of trips by sustainable modes of transport (for example walking, riding, public transport and other forms of e-mobility). However, we recognise that this will look different for everyone in the community.

    The data analysis undertaken during the development of the Parking Plan indicates that whilst there is an adequate supply of car parking across the City Centre, there are some parking locations that are very busy, in peak periods, while other areas a short walk away are under-utilised. This could be due to a number of reasons, such as wayfinding, safety concerns of existing car parks, current timed parking arrangements allowing people to stay for 3 and 4 hours in some of the busiest locations, leading to a lack of bay turnover and a lack of awareness of alternative parking options. 

    The provision of additional car parking is one intervention option available to manage car parking in the City Centre. There are several planned projects in the medium-term that will provide additional car parking, including locations at Sutton’s Farm and the Western Foreshore. There are also other interventions that can make existing parking more efficient. 

    Considerations around additional parking provision need to be made in the context of the following:

    • Parking provision is expensive for ratepayers due to the cost of land, construction and maintenance (particularly decked parking);
    • Increasing parking supply by too much will lead to more traffic in the City Centre;
    • Are there other alternatives that could be implemented before additional provision; 
    • Parking can take up large areas of land that could be used for alternative uses such as spaces for people. Poorly located parking can negatively impact on the urban form by dissecting public spaces, disconnecting pedestrians from key attractions and can create large voids of under-utilised space;
    • The provision of decked car parking ahead of the introduction of paid parking in Mandurah would not be feasible, as any decked facility would be unlikely to be used if parking remained free and convenient elsewhere.

     

    Does the draft Parking Plan propose any paid parking?

    No, not at this stage. The supply and occupancy data indicates that this is not required at this point in the City Centre’s growth. Changes to time-limited parking is, however, recommended in certain locations, as well as the use of sensor technology. Monitoring of the City Centre car parking will be undertaken over time to inform future parking management decisions. If parking occupancy levels during peak times are found to be consistently exceeding the target of 85%, then further interventions may be required. These may include: 

    • Further changes to timed parking arrangements;
    • Consideration of the introduction of paid parking;
    • The provision of additional parking.

    Why is the City of Mandurah looking to introduce in-ground parking sensors in some locations?

    The Parking Plan recommends a trial of parking sensors, as an improved way to manage parking in high demand areas where there are shorter timed-parking arrangements.

    Sensors can be installed in the ground within parking bays to record when a vehicle arrives and departs. 

    The sensors also enable access to parking data around how many vehicles are using particular areas, and how long they are parking for. They will also encourage a higher turnover of vehicles and deter people who are overstaying. This allows drivers to more easily find a parking bay (as one car is not parked in the space all day), assists businesses by allowing access for more customers and ensures maximum land use efficiency.

    The parking sensors are recommended for the following locations:

    • Eastern Foreshore South car park;
    • Eastern Foreshore Central car park; and
    • On-street parking along Mandurah Terrace between Pinjarra Road and Gibson Street. 

    In the longer term, the sensors can be linked to a parking app to assist in directing people to available parking spaces in real-time and the apps can also notify people when their time limit is approaching.

    Why are the timed parking arrangements being changed in certain locations?

    Timed parking is the most cost-effective way to enable the more efficient use of available car parking.

    It can assist in encouraging use of under-utilised parking locations within a 5 minute walk of high-demand locations, whilst providing convenient access to businesses and services for customers.

    The timed parking restrictions no longer match peak period requirements.

    Currently, approximately 70% of off-street bays and 40% of on-street have no time restrictions at all. This enables users to stay for unlimited periods of time in a significant number of locations. Over 85% of all public parking (on and off-street) allow a visitor to stay for 3 hours or more. Furthermore, these restrictions do not apply on Sundays and public holidays (and in some locations on Saturdays too), which are among the City Centre's busiest days. 

    In high-demand areas, this creates a lack of vehicle turnover and encourages longer stay car parking in areas where a higher turnover of customer parking would be an advantage, to support economic activity. This also leads to a perception of a lack of parking, as parking in the busiest locations is predominantly full, when there is availability in off-street car parks within a short walk. 

    Where will I be able to park if I want to stay all day?

    Within Precinct One: City Centre Core, there are already several car parks which are allocated for all day parking, including Leslie/Creery Street and Sutton Hall. This does not currently include the Mewburn car park (currently 4 hour parking), which is under-utilised and is considered to be the most central and well-located car park, in terms of direct connections to the Eastern Foreshore, through Smart Street and Barracks Lane. 

    Changing Mewburn car park to all-day parking presents an opportunity for many users, including employees within City Centre businesses.

    Through the community engagement, many businesses indicated that their staff have concerns regarding safety after hours, when accessing all-day parking. Staff are unable to park their cars, or move their cars, closer to their place of work due to the timed restrictions preventing this. To address this concern, it is recommended that the timed restrictions cease at 5pm instead of 6pm. This change, in addition to car park upgrade works to improve safety, will assist in addressing these concerns. 

    Within Precinct Two: City Centre North, the options for off-street, all-day parking include Hackett Street West and East, Nell Regan Hall site, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Vivaldi Drive and Stingray Wharf car parks.

    Within Precinct Three: Western Foreshore, both off-street car parks (Mary Street and War Memorial) allow users to stay all day.

    It is intended to replace and update the signage in each off-street parking location to better identify the public off-street car parks. 

    Is more provision being made for accessible parking?

    The City Centre currently has 76 ACROD parking bays across the three precincts. This equates to 3.8%.

    As a benchmark, the National Construction Code requires 1 in 50 (2%) ACROD bays for shops. The Parking Plan considers that ACROD bay numbers are sufficient, but their distribution requires further consideration. 

    To address this, the Plan makes a number of recommendations for additional ACROD parking bays in some of the busiest locations such as the Eastern Foreshore Central and North car parks.

    When will the parking changes happen?

    The Parking Plan includes a series of actions which are categorised into ‘Quick Wins’ (current operating budget), and short-term (1-2 years), medium-term (3-5 years) and long-term (5-10 years) priorities, dependent on their urgency and cost.  

    In order to maintain an understanding of usage patterns and trends of the existing parking environment with the City Centre, annual parking occupancy surveys are required. This data is essential to identify priority areas for decision-making around parking management and to identify when intervention triggers have been reached.