The high density development located at 9-27 Downie Street comprises of 275 residential dwellings and 2 retail tenancies on the ground floor. The tower is situated within a Parking Overlay (PO1) area in the Melbourne Planning Scheme and has recently been approved by Melbourne City Council.
The proposal is supported by 66 car spaces, 83 bicycle spaces and 4 motorcycle spaces. Three of the car spaces will be dedicated to a car share scheme to be managed by the body corporate, This will allow for residents to enjoy the luxuries of a shared vehicle when needed without owning a car. Cars can typically be booked for as little as one hour or for multiple days via an on-line booking system.
Vehicle access to the site is provided via Downie Street in a consolidated arrangement with the waste collection accessway. The former use has 5 x crossovers along the street frontage which will be reduced to a double width crossover for access to the parking levels and a single width crossover for waste collection access. Some separation is provided between the two proposed crossovers to allow for a pedestrian refuge.
The resident parking is provided over 5 levels with access to each level permitted by two car lifts. Our involvement in the design process incorporated an assessment of vehicle queuing requirements and accessibility in and out of the car lifts. This includes swept path analysis for the B99 and B85 design vehicle as well as an 8.8m long truck to access the proposed waste collection area. The waste truck is required to enter Downie Street from Flinders Lane and reverse back into the site.
Downie Street is not affected by Design and Development Overlay – Schedule 1 (Active Street Frontages), however a key part of the proposal is the proposed setback of the ground level of the building to increase the overall footpath width along the site’s frontage. This will assist in activating the ground floor retail space, increase the residential lobby area and also support the increase of pedestrian movements along Downie Street from Flinders Street and Flinders Lane.
MGA prepared a traffic and transport impact assessment for the development which included a design review with the project architects to determine the most efficient car parking layout and convenient access arrangements for car and waste vehicles. We collaborated with both the project team and Council Engineers to help achieve the desired project outcomes.
For more information on this project or regarding the use of car lifts and car share parking arrangements in future developments. please contact our office to discuss further.
MGA has been involved in a high number of complex projects involving mechanical parking systems and car lifts. As such, it is recommended that we provide design advice at an early stage to help facilitate successful layout options and to maximise parking numbers within constrained situations.