Out of touch council are removing car parking spaces with little regard for the needs of residents & traders
Council has a massive financial dependence on car parking fees and fines and are on an ideological mission to remove car parking spaces.
Port Phillip Council Sustainable Transport Policy and Parking Rates
“Council is seeking to achieve a reduced reliance on usage of private cars.”
Council are out of touch with residents because we do not expect to pay for a parking permit when we are already paying massive rates and there are not enough car parks. Council are grasping at any opportunity to claw in cash to fund their massive bureaucracy. Parking is on their $$$ radar with little regard for residents or retail business’s needs.
RoPP’s Parking Policies:
- One free permit for all eligible properties.
- Encourage customers to shopping precincts with low cost parking.
- We do not support the unnecessary removal of car parks across the community, especially at shopping precincts.
- Use real-world car ownership and parking data to assess the parking needs of the community and traders, both now and into the future.
- Ensure adequate and fair access to parking for homes.
- Ensure all apartment building developments have parking available on site for all apartments.
Council are out of touch with residents’ needs when it comes to parking and traffic management. Despite the vast majority of residents owning one or more cars*, Port Phillip Council’s ideological focus has been on the removal of parking spaces, even though it is well established that cars are essential to our community. Particularly for families to go shopping, to pick up children from school or sports, to commute to work, or to visit family and friends. This is especially true for the aged.
Council’s ideology has had a detrimental effect on narrowing streets and making it more difficult for drivers and more dangerous for cyclists when bike lanes are placed in the wrong locations. Removal of valuable parking spaces which is destroying business for our traders. Council’s deliberate strategy is changing our growing neighbourhoods – and not for the better.
Fitzroy and Acland Streets once thriving, vibrant icons of our city have been decimated by poor planning. Most street parking has been removed, turning these once thriving and magnetic attractions into quiet retail back-waters.
Planning for growth
While Council expect community numbers to grow, they are reducing our road lanes and parking. The table below shows the revenue from parking fees and fines. The lack of adequate car parking and excessive cost discourages our community and visitors dining or shopping in Port Phillip
https://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/about-the-council/strategies-policies-and-plans/transport-policies-strategies-and-plans Move – Connect – Live
| Income/Revenue ($mil) | Actual | Forecast | Budget | Projection |
| Statutory Fees & Fines | 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 |
| Parking Fines | $ 19.5 | $ 15.0 | $ 15.0 | $ 19.3 |
| User Fees | ||||
| Parking Fees | $ 18.3 | $ 15.8 | $ 16.5 | $ 19.4 |
| TOTAL | $ 37.7 | $ 30.8 | $ 31.5 | $ 38.6 |
Based on the current view from the street, should tell Council officers that 6 months of 2020/21 will pass by and the Budgeted $15M of revenue to 1st January due to Lockdown will be more likely $10M. ****
Council are alienating their constituents by implementing the “Move-Connect-Live” strategy, which is motorphobic that fails to recognise that car use is necessary in today’s society, and their strategy will impinge on collection of 20% of Council’s total revenue.
Resident On-Street Parking
Rates within the Port Phillip Council are amongst the highest in Melbourne*** yet residents still have to pay for their parking permits. Unlike residents of nearby councils, where Glen Eira residents get one parking permit for free, Stonnington residents get two free parking permits and Bayside residents get four free parking permits. One would think that for the exorbitant amount we are forced to pay we would be at least able to park one of our our vehicles for free outside our own homes. But our council needs the cash so they charge an additional annual “Parking Permit” fee. Another ‘Anti Community Tax’
Recently RoPP asked the Council about these fees and here was Council’s Reply:-
“The Parking Permit pricing is not intended to increase revenue but to achieve a cost neutral outcome” Council Staff
We Say – If this is the case then why does Council charge this fee in the first place and not just make on street parking to eligible residents FREE?
Our pledge to ratepayers, should our Candidates gain the balance of power within the Council in the upcoming elections is that we will ensure on street parking for eligible ratepayers is FREE.
Council should maximise parking availability and minimise costs to residents to provide amenity to the majority of the community that rely on convenient car parking. Parking fees for residents should be reasonable and Council should not rely on excessive parking income from residents as a means to prop up its budget**. Residents and visitors should not be prevented from an outing in Port Phillip due to the cost of parking.
Source Documents
* https://profile.id.com.au/port-phillip/car-ownership
** Parking fees, fines and permits are second only to rates as Council’s biggest revenue source.
*** https://ropp.org.au/fact-check-how-high-are-port-phillip-rates-compared-to-neighbouring-councils/
**** https://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/media/1njpkxws/14-6-att-1-principle-approval.pdf
Snap Poll – Do you think that on street parking for residents should be included in their rates?
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