Inner-city parking wars / The man in the street Author: Michelle Draper Date: 30/09/2006 Publication: The Age Section: Domain Page: 4
With today's bumper to bumper lifestyles, Michelle Draper reports, residents are being urged to ditch their wheels.
TED WOODRUFF has a daily parking dilemma that many other inner-city residents could relate to - the Richmond resident arrives home from work on most days to find every park on the street taken. Vehicles are even parked on the footpath and nature strip.
Mr Woodruff has been slugged with some hefty parking fines in the past year, despite the fact that he has a parking permit."
The problem is there are so few parks you end up having to park up on the curb or, alternatively, park three or four streets away and it's not in your zone," he explains.
This scene is repeated throughout Melbourne's inner suburbs. Residents in heritage properties without driveways fight for on-street parking spaces with apartment dwellers and other residents who may have a garage but own more than one car.
Nearby businesses and entertainment venues also attract visitors searching for that elusive spot, adding to residents' parking woes.
Recently, a number of new apartment developments have been approved in Port Phillip with little or no parking provision, based on the Melbourne 2030 planning principle that public transport and shops are easily accessible. Potential residents need not own a car.
But is it realistic to expect people will happily forgo vehicle ownership, or will such developments simply add to congestion and parking wars?
Port Phillip Council is of the opinion that, in the right place, car-free developments are acceptable. Mayor Janet Bolitho says: "If you have a high-quality development with public transport next to (essential) services, those would be the kinds of locations where we would consider reduced car-parking requirements."
Port Phillip Council has approved six reduced-car-parking and car-free developments since 1997 - all in Carlisle and Barkly streets.
Developments approved this year include a commercial building in Carlisle Street that will be converted into 13 units without any car parking, while another will provide 15 spaces for 35 apartments and six shops.
Under planning guidelines, the latter is short 33 parking spaces for the dwellings and five for the shops.
The council traffic engineer's assessment found that unless the apartments are marketed to people without vehicles, the area "will not be able to accommodate this shortfall".
Cr Bolitho says it is possible to encourage residents without cars, because the developer has agreed to inform residents they will not be eligible for parking permits and is also committed to providing residents with information about car-sharing companies in the area.
With car-sharing, an annual fee entitles members to the use of a car with a designated parking space in the area.
The mayor also says the development has generous provision for the storage of bicycles and motor scooters.
She says it was also about providing affordable housing options for people, including those who don't own cars. Why should they pay for a space they don't use?
"We're not hostile to cars - we're about trying to increase the range of options."
It is estimated that a single car park in a new development costs $15,000-$45,000. Port Phillip Council argues that the cost of a car park represents at least 10 per cent of a $300,000 unit, so without car parking, the apartments should be more affordable.
It also helps the developers' profit margins. Developers will often seek to waive parking because it reduces building costs.
Excavation, earthmoving and construction works contribute to the cost of providing off-street car parks.
But, as one Melbourne developer notes, it is pointless to build apartments at the higher end of the market without providing car parks, as they simply wouldn't sell.
So there are incentives, to a degree, for developers to provide car-free developments, and the planning system will obviously support them in what are considered appropriate areas. But does this mean there will be a flood of these kinds of developments approved?
Con Tsotsoros of town planner MacroPlan says it is unusual to waive car parking spaces completely. He applauds Port Phillip Council for doing so but says it would not happen outside the inner city.
Port Phillip Council emphasises it is "not open slather" and there is limited evidence to suggest other councils are ticking car-free developments.
Over in Yarra, Cr Judy Morton says this scenario will be addressed when and if it arises.
Cr Morton, a non-car-owning Richmond resident, is experienced in the art of negotiating residents' car parking gripes. "We'd rarely get a planning application where car parking or traffic doesn't come up," she says. "It's a really hot topic."
She has worked with residents to implement changes to car parking restrictions to ease the tensions between them and businesses. Beyond that, she suggests the best approach is a bit of neighbourly goodwill to self-manage parking in their streets.
Cr Morton is surprised by the emotions that car parking issues evoke: "There are still people who feel the space outside their house is theirs and they should be able to park there. I think it's totally unrealistic because there aren't enough spaces outside for people to park their cars. The street is communal property, not private property."
Mr Tsotsoros suggests a solution that would see developers who waive car parking contribute to a fund to increase public transport services.
Otherwise, if more developments continue to be approved without car parking, while public transport languishes, congestion and pollution will just increase, he says.
And if public transport improves, that could persuade residents such as Ted Woodruff to ditch the wheels.
The man in the street
Despite owning a parking permit, this resident still cops $500 in parking fines a year.
SAM JOHNSTON has lived in a two-bedroom house in Richmond for the past year. Like many inner-city terrace houses, there is a small courtyard at the rear that Mr Johnston and his flatmate use as a backyard rather than a parking lot. Plus, the roller door doesn't work.
Mr Johnston (pictured) has a parking permit but says he's been slugged about $500 in parking fines in the past year. The reason, he says, is that he often arrives home late from work or footy training when all the street's parking spaces have been filled and he's forced to park beyond the permit zone."
It's a nightmare. There are so many houses and apartments around here that if you get in after 9pm, you're generally parking two blocks away from your house. If you drive in our area late at night, you'll find a lot of cars parked up on the footpath."
The situation doesn't ease up at weekends. With the MCG nearby, tens of thousands of fans descend on the area during the footy season, contributing to pressure on residents' parking spaces.
Mr Johnston says while public transport is getting better, it doesn't meet his needs. "I need a car to get around town and to get to footy training."
Yarra Council is familiar with Richmond car parking horror stories."
This case study illustrates the incredible amount of pressure on parking in Richmond," says Cr Judy Morton, who represents Richmond residents.
She says councillors are always willing to meet with residents to try and find local solutions to local parking problems.
Cr Morton is working to resolve parking issues in Boyd Street.
The council has also worked with residents to ease car-parking woes in areas such as Bendigo Street, which houses the Channel Nine studios.
It introduced more permit-only parking and reduced two-hour parking restrictions to one hour, to discourage visitors to the studios from taking residents' spaces.
Cr Morton says the council changed the parking regimens so it was easier to enforce restrictions and easier for the residents to find parks.
She says parking in Richmond is also a safety issue for some people."
It's something that can cause real difficulties and hardship to people when you can't get a park within reasonable distance of your home."
-- MICHELLE DRAPER