What the Council says:
An artist’s impression of the hub
“The project will transform the existing Council-owned car park on Tryon Road into a contemporary village green by relocating the existing public car parking underground. This will free up the surface and enable the creation of a new public plaza and park. Also included will be a pavilion building housing a cafรฉ or restaurant with public toilets, as well as an elevator and stair access to the basement car park.”The Green will comprise broad areas of soft landscaping including trees and shaded seating areas, as well as generous pathways and paved areas. These will be designed for social gatherings and easy pedestrian and bicycle movement through the plaza with connections to the train station.
“The vision for the LVG project is to become a modern exemplar of sustainable urbanism. The Village Green will play a central role in community life for Lindfield residents, business people, commuters, shoppers and visitors. The project will be striving for high environmental ratings by showcasing water sensitive urban design, water capture, storage and reuse, and water conservation systems.”
What the Merryn and other objectors say:
An aerial view of the car space plan
“In theory the plans for The Lindfield Village Green sounds great, as the plan appears to result in more car spots – but the reality is that 100 of those spaces are allocated for commuters, taking the short-term car spaces down to 80, a reduction of 40%, with two disabled or easy access spaces,” Merryn says.
“There are also security concerns given it’s an underground carpark, and safety concerns around delivery trucks and traffic congestion in an area with many families and children moving around. The plans will affect parents visiting the Early Childhood Centre based at Lindfield, local chemists, and doctors as well as the other businesses in the area so we really would like the council to get the plan right!
“Lindfield is such a great community full of amazing people young and old, and as a Lindfield mum and business owner I want a plan that improves our lives and not disadvantages us. I love the idea of green space and upgrading the carpark but not at the cost of putting our community in a worse position than it is now. Fewer short term car spaces and an increase in potential safety and security hazards means poorer access to essential and lifestyle services and a potential increase in dangerous situations. I want local residents and visitors to be able to access health and medical practitioners easily, especially when they are less mobile.
“I want people to be able to enjoy village life without becoming frustrated by lack of parking and giving up on our area. I want parents to be able to pick up loved ones without concerns about security in underground carparks or heavy vehicle traffic flows. I want to be proud of our area, and essentially I think Council wants this too, they’re just going about it the wrong. I want Lindfield to get it right and in order for this to happen we need everyone who has an interest in our area to have their say!”
To understand more about the plans, you can contact Ku-Ring-Gai Council, or more about the plans at Lindfield: Let’s Get It Right which features links to the council documents and has an online petition to sign for those who wish. Submissions close 28th February, so it’s a good idea to take a look now, before it’s too late.
