Can't find a car park in the CBD? Here's why Greg Thom Herald Sun May 10, 201211:36AM
CBD parking bays are becoming harder to find with 13. 8 spots available per 100 workers. The Advertiser
THE hunt to find a car park in Melbourne's CBD is getting worse with a new report revealing Melbourne has only 13.8 commercial car parking spaces for every 100 workers, the second lowest ratio in the country.
This is despite the fact Melbourne boasts almost 40,000 car parking spaces, the highest of all capital cities.
The car parking squeeze is expected to tighten even further, with the number of new multi-story car parks added over the past five years slowing dramatically even as motorists looking for a place to park continues to rise.
The study Australian CBD Car Parking -- The Next Decade by real estate services company Colliers International, revealed the ratio of car parks to CBD workers has steadily dropped from 15.1 per 100 workers in 2007 to 13.8 last year.
The margin is tipped to narrow even further in 2013, with an average 100 motorists competing for 13.4 car spots.
Researcher Nerida Conisbee said new car parking options are expected to dry up over the next decade.
"In 2012 and 2013, all new car parks will be contained within office and retail developments,' she said.
Ms Conisbee said the majority of car parks in Australia's capital cities were used by workers, whose numbers had increased by more than 100,000 over the past five years.
"The cities with the lowest ratio of car parking to workers are Sydney and Melbourne, our biggest CBDs,' she said.
Report co-author Christina Lynn said new technology and increasing competition among car park operators had forced changes designed to attract new customers.
"Individual bay sensors have changed the way customers approach car parks and have been the most significant customer service innovation in car parking technology in the past few years,' she said.
Other technological advances included new billing systems based on licence plate recognition, remote monitoring courtesy of CCTV cameras and intercoms and electronic payment systems which utilise electronic tags and credit cards.
Gimmicks ranging from dry cleaning services and free newspapers to bottled water in summer and birthday based parking deals are also being offered to attract motorists.
"Increased competition and space constraints are also making car park owners and operators more sensitive to customer needs and we are beginning to see changes to services as a result,' Ms Lynn said.