The Star Vista. Probably best known as the mall owned by New Creation Church. Being un-religious, I basically know it as the place where I attend a lot of concerts (most recently the fantastic Distant Worlds concert!). As an Eastie, there's previous little reason else to go all the way to Buona Vista for what is otherwise a fairly generic (upmarket) shopping mall. 

Manoeuvrability: Tight or not? 

Most of the carpark is generally not hard to get around, but there is one particular portion that’s tricky. When you come off any down ramp, there’s a tight, narrow and S-shaped section (snaking around a lift lobby) that can be tricky, especially for wider and longer cars. Just take it slow, and you shouldn’t have any issue. 

7/10

Ease of navigation: Confusing or not? 

This carpark is pretty idiot-proof. The shape is not confusing, traffic is one-way, lots are clearly marked (the light on top indicates availability), there are lots of signs pointing you the right way, and overall carpark visibility is quite good. 

9/10

Lot availability: Crowded or not? 

Star Vista is a curious place. On most days, it’s not going to be super crowded, and with over 800 lots available finding space should not be too hard.

However, because of the Star Theatre, which hosts both church services on weekends as well as big music events, there are times when it can get very crowded. 

The peculiarity of the crowd surge is that because these events end at a particular timing and a lot of people are then trying to exit at the same time, traffic getting out can get quite bad. This is made worse by the fact that the up ramp filters into a single lane together with the cars on the upper level exiting, creating a bottleneck (it’s especially bad on B2 because one of the exit gantries is quite near said bottleneck). 

3/10 or 7/10, depending on the day

Cost: Expensive of not? 

$1.80 an hour from Mon to Sat, $2.30 an hour on Sundays. That’s slightly pricey. Not that there’s many other options around. The next-door Rochester Mall is slightly cheaper at $1.30 an hour, but obviously not as convenient. Worth noting: On Sundays and public holidays, full-day parking is capped at $10 (catering to the church crowd, I’m guessing). 

6/10

EV Chargers: Can charge or not? 

There are 3 Tesla Superchargers there, but no ‘normal’ ones. So, it’s a bit tricky to answer depending on whether you are driving a Tesla or not. Tesla owner? Great. Any other EV? Terrible. 

0/10 or 8/10. 

Motorcycle lots: Bike-friendly or not? 

Decent amount of lots are available, and at $1.08 per entry reasonably priced as well. 

8/10

Accessibility: Can find or not? 

The carpark entrances are not hard to find. However, on event days, traffic towards the carpark, especially coming from North Buona Vista Road, is going to be heavy and slow going (there’s a single right-turning lane, which causes quite a back up). 

7/10

Overall design: Good or not? 

Overall, the design of the Star Vista carpark is quite good. Bottlenecks happen, but that’s more to do with the nature of the crowd (big groups leaving at the same timing) rather than poor design. It would be nice if there were more EV charging options for non-Teslas, and yes it’s on the pricey side, but hey, it’s The Star Vista. You kinda expect things to be pricey. 

7/10

~ Desmond