- Parking your car in Melbourne CBD to cost $5.50 an hour
- By JOHN MASANAUSKAS
- 09/05/2013 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: Admin ( 25 articles in 2013 )
MELBOURNE traders will fight the move to lift CBD parking fees by up to nearly 40 per cent.
Collins St Precinct chairman Don Parsons said it would be “an absolute negative for business'' and areas like Collins St would be hit hard.
"We still have carriage trade where people pull up outside a shop on an impulse and go in and buy something,'' he said.
"This is a disincentive for them to even come to the city to do it. More of them will say to us, ‘I can get what I want in the suburbs where the parking is free.’''
Mr Parsons said he expected city traders to unite and try to have the fee hike reduced before it was approved by a council meeting.
And after a zero rate increase last year, city ratepayers will be hit with a 3.75 per cent increase in 2013/14.
Under a tough Budget announced today, from July 1, a one-hour park in the central city will rise by nearly 40 per cent to $5.50 while motorists will pay more to use council-owned car parks.
The Melbourne Visitor Shuttle will no longer be free – tourists will pay $5 daily fare but children under 10 will not be charged.
The price hike follows a $20m black hole caused by a shortfall in parking fine revenue and a major superannuation liability.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle acknowledged that the rise in parking fees wouldn’t be popular but said they were cheaper many other capital cities.
"There is a $10.5 million shortfall in parking revenue basically caused by compliance, people are following the rules so our projected fines did not reach what we thought we were going to get,'' he said.
"No one likes it but with the few revenue levers we have, you've got to look at that if you want to meet your budget.
"(It’s) still well below Sydney but I understand that people don't like those rises in parking rates.''
A fine for parking in a clearway will rise by $20 to $125 while motorists caught parking on a footway will pay $87 – up $12.
Cr Doyle campaigned strongly for the expansion of the CCTV network, but no funds have been allocated in the Budget.
Collins St Precinct chairman Don Parsons said it would be “an absolute negative for business'' and areas like Collins St would be hit hard.
"We still have carriage trade where people pull up outside a shop on an impulse and go in and buy something,'' he said.
"This is a disincentive for them to even come to the city to do it. More of them will say to us, ‘I can get what I want in the suburbs where the parking is free.’''
Mr Parsons said he expected city traders to unite and try to have the fee hike reduced before it was approved by a council meeting.
And after a zero rate increase last year, city ratepayers will be hit with a 3.75 per cent increase in 2013/14.
Under a tough Budget announced today, from July 1, a one-hour park in the central city will rise by nearly 40 per cent to $5.50 while motorists will pay more to use council-owned car parks.
The Melbourne Visitor Shuttle will no longer be free – tourists will pay $5 daily fare but children under 10 will not be charged.
The price hike follows a $20m black hole caused by a shortfall in parking fine revenue and a major superannuation liability.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle acknowledged that the rise in parking fees wouldn’t be popular but said they were cheaper many other capital cities.
"There is a $10.5 million shortfall in parking revenue basically caused by compliance, people are following the rules so our projected fines did not reach what we thought we were going to get,'' he said.
"No one likes it but with the few revenue levers we have, you've got to look at that if you want to meet your budget.
"(It’s) still well below Sydney but I understand that people don't like those rises in parking rates.''
A fine for parking in a clearway will rise by $20 to $125 while motorists caught parking on a footway will pay $87 – up $12.
Cr Doyle campaigned strongly for the expansion of the CCTV network, but no funds have been allocated in the Budget.
Source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cost-to-park-your-car-in-melbourne-cbd-to-cost-550-an-hour/story-e6frf7jo-1226638475395
1Will not be visible to public.
2Receive notification of other comments posted for this article. To cease notification after having posted click here.
3To make a link clickable in the comments box enclose in link tags - ie.<link>Link</link>.
4To show an image enclose the image URL in tags - ie.<image>https://fredspage.com/box.jpg</image>. Note: image may be resized if too large
To further have your say, head to our forum Click Here
To contribute a news article Click Here
To view or contribute a Quote Click Here