Parking in Moreland
Robert Durkacz Nov/Dec 2019
This article is intended to collect together the main resources for those interested in the discussions about parking that have going on for a while. As mentioned in the second section, at first there was nothing known to have been written down from the local ALP side so a bit of journalistic effort has been made by the author. The title may be misleading, since much more of Moreland is affected than just Sydney Rd.
Contents
Moreland Council parking proposals
Moreland Council presents its transport policies on the transport strategy page of its website. In particular you can download their parking implementation plan from there.
Local ALP objections
In 8 October 2019 the Brunswick ALP branch resolved to lodge an objection to the Moreland council's "183c Amendment". The concern here appears to be that with this amendment apartment blocks are no longer required to be built with parking places for residents. Parking spaces may be provided, up to some maximum limit but none need to be provided. Carlo Carli, the well-known former MP, was expected to write the objection.
No-one wants to force parking spaces to be built that will not be used, at $60,000 or so they are expensive, but that does not mean that apartment dwellers may park on the street to save the cost of a parking space. That is at least one reason that parking on residential streets close to "activity centres" is to be restricted, and this is a further source of concern. Carlo argues that it causes particular difficulties for health workers. (Carlo is a director of Merri Health.)
The two Labor councillors are understood to be lined up with Carlo's views. There is a general belief that the council might be moving in the right direction but is trying to do too much too soon under the influence of Green councillors and over-zealous staff. They see this issue as one which will be important in the next council elections.
The council's plans have been documented in detail and consultation has been extensive. It is not clear whether the local ALP has a counter-proposal at the one extreme or at the other, simply opportunistic objections. Carlo Carli has now written this piece for public access. Lambros Tapinos and Annalivia Carli-Hannan, the ALP councillors, are also invited to publish their ideas on our website.
Carlo has subsequently submitted a detailed objection (download) to the council.
Market pricing of parking
There is more theory to parking than you might think. I learned of the economist Donald Shoup's views on the subject from people on our side. Donald Shoup, The High Cost of Free Parking, Chicago: Planners Press, 2005 and 2011. The first chapter of this book may be downloaded from the web.
Parking enforcement technology and practice
Following is quoted from emails by Ashley Herz, team leader of parking operations for Moreland council, written on 18 and 20 Nov 2019.
"As far as how we plan on enforcing the change [increased number of two hour parking spots], as the restriction are introduced there will be letter drops in the streets prior to the installation and a standard new signage grace period will apply. Recent plans include the introduction of new residential permit types and to the application process to make the process more user friendly. For the first stages our enforcement plan hasn’t changed, you will still see officers out there with chalk in hand.
"We are currently researching licence plate recognition technologies yet have no current plans for the introduction. We also have the option of purchasing more or relocating parking sensors to the new areas, however this won’t occur until well into the roll out. There should be no cause for concern from the public as the images taken will be the similar if not the same as what we have always collected.
"As for the current method, the Parking Officers follow a Standard Operating procedure which is designed to provide guidance for the daily oversight of parking violations within Moreland. This helps to create a level of consistency across all violations captured by the team. The officers are using mobile technology to issue infringements and are equipped with both a duress system and body worn camera, this is to help reduce the instances of anti-social behaviours.
"We rent the sensors from Data Consultants Australia. More information about them can be found here: https://data.com.au/cities/parking-city-management/parking-sensors/
"With MITS [Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy] we are introducing a bunch of new permits options for residents and business owners. Unfortunately, we are still working through the teething so I can’t confirm the details on these permits yet.
"We will be loosening the application process a little to make it easier to obtain a permit that suits the needs of the community."
