New Park and Ride to accompany light rail station in Mitchell

The Park and Ride facility will connect with Mitchell’s new light rail station. Photo: File.

A Park and Ride facility will be built on Well Station Drive next to the new light rail station in Mitchell, where construction is about to start.

The ACT Government is seeking a contractor to build the new Park and Ride, which will cater for 179 vehicles and include eight bicycle racks for 15 bikes and a bike shelter.

The site – bounded by Flemington Road, Well Station Drive and the Mitchell Resource Management Centre – will also need concrete path links, traffic management works, street lighting, fencing and landscaping, according to the tender document.

Work will also include preparations for the installation of CCTV cameras to enhance security.

The Park and Ride facility will connect the new light rail station and the Route 18 bus stop on Well Station Drive, and service nearby Gungahlin suburbs such as Franklin and Harrison, and the new suburb of Kenny.

The location of the new facility. Photo: File.

It should boost patronage on the line, attracting more potential passengers from further out in the catchment.

Last month, plans were lodged for the Mitchell light rail station, the 14th on the line between Gungahlin and the City.

It will be sited on Flemington Road at the intersection with Sandford Street and will service the Mitchell business precinct.

Mitchell traders, whose businesses suffered throughout the light rail construction period, lobbied hard for the stop to be added to the route.

Plans for the new Park and Ride. Photo: Supplied.

The island stop between the existing rail tracks will match the design of other stations on the Gungahlin-to-City line.

Construction of the light rail stop is expected to commence by the end of the year, coinciding with the holiday period to take advantage of reduced traffic, and will take about seven months to complete.

Transport Canberra and City Services has recently opened expanded Park and Ride facilities in North Weston and Wanniassa, two of 21 sites across Canberra.

The tender for the Park and Ride facility closes on 15 December.

Original Article published by Ian Bushnell on The RiotACT.