One of Perth's biggest free car parks to close in months to make way for new primary school
One of Perth's biggest free car parks will close later this year to make way for a new primary school.
Commuters who use the Queens Gardens free car park in East Perth will need to find alternative spots by October before the spaces are levelled for the construction of East Perth Primary School, WA Today reports.
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook today confirmed the 497-bay car park would remain open for the next nine months after Education Minister Toni Buti initially claimed it would close this week.
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Housing Minister John Carey, Premier Roger Cook and Education Minister Tony Buti at the site of the new East Perth Primary School on Monday. Hamish Hastie
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"The vast majority of this site will be available until October, we will be doing early site works relocating power supply for power services, and things like that, but parking will continue to be free here for the foreseeable future," Cook told media.
Preliminary construction work on the new primary school will begin this week, Cook said in a social media post.
But it won't result in the closure of the carpark until October.
East Perth Primary School will open in 2029. Facebook/Roger Cook
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"We promised a new primary school for families in the inner city - and we're getting on with it," Cook said.
"It'll be a world-class primary school when doors open in 2029, and it'll help ease the pressure on surrounding schools."
Preliminary construction work on the new primary school will begin this week. Hamish Hastie
The primary school will open in 2029 with classroom capacity of 600 students.
The Queens Gardens car park is free to use and Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas previously criticised the state government for rejecting a proposal to have the city run the parking lot.
Zampilas claimed the site would have generated $650,000 in parking fees.
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