With Chatswood undergoing massive development, the area has seen huge population and infrastructure growth. But current development applications for new apartment buildings have one Willoughby City councillor scratching his head and asking a simple question: where will all the cars go?

Andrew Nelson, a retired geoscientist, started looking into the plans for developments in Chatswood as treasurer of the Chatswood West Ward Progress Association. He was so “amazed” by what he discovered he decided to nominate for council, and was elected four months ago.

Councillor Nelson said the proposed number of car spaces for some new state government supported developments in the neighbourhood could worsen already existing traffic congestion and limited street parking – flying in the face of local council recommendations.

🤔 Will Chatswood’s parking situation hold up?

Willoughby City Council’s 2023 Development Control Plan (DCP) states that mixed-use dwellings in the Chatswood CBD are to get one car space for every two units (expressed in the plan as “0.5 spaces per studio and 1, 2, 3 or more bedroom units”) and one visitor space per seven units.

The DCP states that this is to encourage “the use of active and public transport and minimise the adverse effects of car use. Increasing the supply of car parking tends to encourage a greater number of vehicle trips”.

However, the Transport Impact Assessment — in a State Significant Development (SSD) proposal for a new $90 million development at 44-52 Anderson Street — seeks approval for 256 residential parking spaces for a 123-apartment building of 33 storeys. This equates to two – and in some instances more – spaces per unit, more than four times the number recommended by council.

🏢 What is “State Significant Development”?

According to North Sydney Council: “State Significant Development is a framework for assessing major projects that are considered important to the state for economic, environmental, or social reasons.

“SSD projects that meet certain criteria are assessed at the state level rather than local council level At various stages of the SSD process, North Sydney Council is notified and requested to provide input and feedback to such proposals.”

A report into “future conditions”, commissioned by council but funded by the developers attached to the Anderson Street proposal, is “riddled with errors”, Nelson claimed, even appearing in two cases to fabricate an entire street (see image below).

🚗 Parking troubles in Willoughby City could only get worse

With residents already coming to him with parking and street accessibility issues, Councillor Nelson is flummoxed. And the Anderson Street proposal is just one of many.

The SSDP acknowledged the parking provisions exceeded council’s recommended number, stating “the majority of cars … will only generate trips occasionally and be generally on a discretionary basis and will not impact the operation of the road network during the busiest times of the day”. It said the proximity of the Chatswood interchange would encourage public transport use over private vehicle use.

“I’m concerned about the traffic issues, because it’s already bad,” Nelson said.

With low- and mid-rise housing reforms announced by the state government on February 28, the council’s planning controls are set to be overridden. 🤔

Thumbnail image credit: City of Ryde (left), Melissa Mantle (right)