Crown Resorts’ project for the construction of a A$2-billion casino resort at Barangaroo faced another setback, as the New South Wales transport department voiced concerns that certain traffic issues might arise once the venue open doors. Transport for New South Wales argued in a submission to the state Department of Planning and Environment that there might not be enough parking spaces for visitors.
According to the agency, Lend Lease, the company in charge of the property’s construction, has not paid due attention to the future increase in traffic volumes in the areas located in near proximity to the hotel and casino venue.
Lend Lease has previously submitted an application for the modification of Barangaroo South so as to accommodate Crown’s 69-story property. The developer estimated that the parking demand would increase to 800 spaces on Friday nights and during the weekends. Yet, the resort is planned to feature no more than 500 non-residential parking spaces, which means that there will be a shortfall of about 300 spaces.
According to Lend Lease, commercial parking lots around the area could be used to absorb the overflow of spaces. However, Transport for New South Wales said in a filing to the state planning department that public parking facilities are to be used by visitors of the Barangaroo headland park as well as of Central Barangaroo, a multimillion development, which is to offer visitors numerous recreational, entertainment, and retail options.
Furthermore, Transport for New South Wales urged Lend Lease to carry out a comprehensive research, in order to confirm that there will be enough parking spaces for visitors of the Crown property and that circulating traffic would not have a negative effect on the Barangaroo road network.
According to the state transport department, Lend Lease has not taken into consideration the changes that will occur once the Central Business District light rail is constructed. It also pointed out in its filing to the planning department that the developer has failed to provide comprehensive information about the apartments the Crown complex would feature. In other words, Transport for New South Wales could not comment whether there will be enough parking spaces once the property is completed.
Earlier this week, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment released about 30 different submissions concerning the construction of the Crown property. One of those was filed by the gambling operator’s long-standing rival Echo Entertainment, which currently manages the only casino in Sydney.
Echo said in its submission that it objected to Crown’s proposed expansion of its resort, as this would have negative environmental effects on the Barangaroo waterfront.
