Aireys Inlet Reserve car park, March 2013
In early 2012, following extensive consultations with AIDA and local residents, council approved plans for redevelopment of the Aireys Inlet Reserve car park, for additional car parking just outside the redeveloped car park on Inlet Crescent west, and for installation of long vehicle parking bays on either side of the GOR opposite the Bottom Shops. AIDA was particularly pleased with council’s willingness to take up a suggestion by AIDA committee member Ian Godfrey to use a new ‘gravel pave’ system instead of a dark asphalt surface for the Reserve car park. The system is a porous plastic cellular paving grid for reinforcing grass or gravel, and is suitable for many trafficked applications, both pedestrian and vehicular, including car parks. The reinforcement pavers allow rainwater or surface water to penetrate the grid structure, eliminating the requirement for expensive installation of drainage and, in this case, subsequent discharge into the inlet. Its use at the Reserve car park is a first for the Surf Coast Shire. It is hoped it will be a precedent for the future redevelopment by GORCC of Step Beach car park, where the desirability of maintaining a natural gravel surface has been endorsed by council.
Photographs of the Reserve car park reconstruction works illustrate how this system was installed:
Concrete kerbs are installed around the car park periphery and entrance and base material is added to the car park surface
The porous plastic cellular paving grid is laid on the surface and pounded into the base
The car park is coated with local Gherang gravel, which is repeatedly pounded into the pavers, and then the car park entrance from the GOR is (unfortunately) sealed with asphalt – hopefully it will become dusty and lighter in colour
The other work that was done concurrently with the car park was the installation of long vehicle parking bays adjacent to the V-line bus stops beside the westbound and eastbound lanes of the Great Ocean Road. These are to accommodate short term parking for tour buses setting down passengers and for other long vehicles such as campervans and cars towing caravans (the Reserve and Step Beach car parks cannot accommodate vehicles longer than 6 m).
