A $600,000 blackhole has been punched in the Maribyrnong council budget following its decision to scrap paid parking at Yarraville Village and Footscray CBD until the end of summer.
Maribyrnong councillors voted 6-0 at an often fiery special meeting last Friday to immediately suspend parking meter operations until February 29.
A further report on traffic and parking management options in both areas will go to the February 16 council meeting.
Council chief executive Stephen Wall confirmed the estimated revenue loss of the decision would be in excess of $600,000.
“As with any loss in revenue, council will have to consider where savings can be made.”
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The decision to install 17 parking meters covering 97 parking spaces in Yarraville has been dogged by controversy for more than 12 months.
The matter came to a violent head at the November 17 council meeting when Cr Grant Miles was punched and Cr Nam Quach was body-slammed and kicked.
Cr Sarah Carter brought a motion to Friday’s meeting as a holiday period compromise to the contentious introduction of the paid parking.
Cr Quach moved an amended motion that the parking meters also be switched off in Footscray CBD.
The motion was passed unanimously, despite Labor councillors criticising the “ambush” as “gotcha politics” and “policy on the run”.
Cr Quach said it would be unfair to switch off Yarraville meters but not those at Footscray.
“This is in the interest of fairness. I don’t see why the same application of policy framework should differ.”
Cr Quach had earlier supported a failed motion by Cr Miles that the machines remain on in both areas, citing a summary of traffic data analysis by Austraffic that showed an increase in parking turnover at Yarraville.
Mayor Cameron McDonald said the decision gave the council time to gather and assess more evidence on the positive and negative effects the meters had had on traffic, traders and residents.
“Do we need to get more business back into our commercial areas? Would free parking make a difference? I don’t see a difference between Footscray and Yarraville. The question is how do we keep our businesses going?”
Cr McDonald said the council should be able to absorb the loss of revenue.
