Maribyrnong councillors have voted to keep parking meters switched off in Yarraville village and central Footscray while council staff develop a new parking policy.
Tuesday night’s unanimous decision is likely to tip the total hit to council coffers over the $1 million mark, with an estimated $600,000 already lost since December when the council suspended paid parking in both areas until the end of this month.
While the debate lacked the heat of last year’s fiery clashes over the issue, which descended into violent chaos as two councillors were assaulted at a November meeting, there was still clear animosity between Labor and independent councillors over the introduction of the meters to Yarraville.
The vote came after a report into paid parking in Yarraville village found that although weekly vehicle turnover had marginally increased, the council had erred in introducing fees to too many parking bays and setting too high a fee for weekday parking.
Transport policy specialists Phillip Boyle and Associates found although parking meters in the village may have damaged weekday shopping, they should have improved weekend trade due to higher vehicle turnover.
Cr Nam Quach used Tuesday night’s meeting to highlight the weekend boost but was accused by Cr Michael Clarke of “cherry-picking” the results.
The council last August spent $120,000 installing 17 parking meters covering 97 parking spaces in Yarraville.
Business operators in Yarraville claim the move has cut into their bottom line by as much as 30 per cent.
Data collected in February 2015 and last November – before and after paid parking was in force – shows businesses that only operate on weekdays are most exposed to a drop in trade while those operating Sundays may be better off.
It showed fewer vehicles visiting the centre of Yarraville from Monday to Thursday but an eight per cent overall increase across the week.
Weekend success
The report found Saturdays and Sundays were “a success”, based on more car-based customers and less parking stress. But weekday controls were “too tight”.
“It is likely the Yarraville trial set the initial charge unnecessarily high for Mondays to Thursdays,” the report notes.
“The Yarraville Village paid parking trial changed the regime in too many bays and at times when occupancies were low.”
The report highlights the need for a policy to deal with the growing number of cars in Maribyrnong, with numbers expected to rise by 14,000 to 49,000 by 2026.
It flagged the need to extend a waiver on parking fees in Yarraville and central Footscray until a new Maribyrnong-wide Destination Parking Management Policy has been developed.
The report notes rolling out a new policy in Footscray and Yarraville should be a priority, followed by new parking regimes at precincts including Seddon and Barkly Village, at Highpoint and also at the Footscray Hospital.
