By Molly Magennis
Visitors to Altona Beach will soon be required to pay for parking as part of Hobsons Bay councils proposal to introduce parking meters to help offset infrastructure costs, sparking debate within the community.
The proposal was initially announced during a council meeting on April 20, as a part of councils 2022-23 budget.
Council have now developed a Parking Management Strategy which is currently out for public feedback to help guide the future parking strategy for the Altona Beach area.
The parking meters are proposed to be installed on the Esplanade between Sarros (Romawi) Street and Millers Road, made up of a total of 195 spaces.
Three-hour time restrictions, between 8am to 8pm, will be introduced for the angled paid parking spaces along the Esplanade closest to Pier Street.
All Hobsons Bay residents are eligible for ticket machine parking permits which will exempt them from the fees in these areas.
Hobsons Bay mayor Peter Hemphill said the fees received from visitors paying for parking would be put back into the community.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve invested in significant infrastructure along Altona Foreshore including access ramps, upgrading the shared trail, picnic shelters and revamping Weaver Reserve, to make Altona Beach more accessible, attractive and enjoyable,” he said.
“By charging visitors for paid parking, we’re diversifying our revenue streams and sharing the infrastructure costs with visitors who come to Hobsons Bay for the beach and sport activities.”
Community response to the proposal so far has been mixed, with some worried about the impacts the paid parking will have on local businesses.
Roula George has lived in Altona North all her life, and is worried the metres will make Hobsons Bay a ‘ghost town’.
“It will do to Hobsons Bay what it did to Yarraville when they introduced them,” she said.
“Leave it free and let everyone enjoy it. This will add stress to our local restaurants and businesses who rely on not only us but outside clientele.”
Other locals however said this initiative is long overdue.
“The suburb is overrun on hot summer days [and] nights with cars that park all day along the Esplanade and surrounding streets at absolutely no cost,” Altona resident Michael Patchell said.
Cr Hemphill acknowledged that the introduction of paid parking will have an impact on the way parking occurs in Altona.
“We’ve analysed the parking behaviour during peak periods near Altona Beach and are proposing a range of parking changes to minimise beachgoers parking in residential streets and protect access to properties, as well as trading areas,” he said.
To help support local businesses, two 15-minute spaces between 8am and 8pm, are proposed to be introduced at the southern end of Bent Street.
The proposed Parking Management Strategy is open for community feedback until Wednesday June 8.
To share your thoughts visit participate.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/parking-management-strategy
