Kerbside space is the very useful and high demand road space, typically located immediately adjacent to a footpath (but sometimes set away from the kerb or in the centre of the road). It is an important transfer point for people and goods into and out of our city. Kerbside space accommodates many functions that keep our city operating. This includes direct, safe and convenient access to the footpath for loading and unloading of goods, for inclusive access for people with a disability and for people being picked up or dropped off by car, taxi, rideshare or public transport. It is also used for on-street parking of cars, motorbikes and bikes.

Approximately 4 per cent of all road space in the municipality is classified as parking and kerbside space. This space is limited and in high demand from competing uses. A parking and kerbside management plan is needed to ensure our kerbside space is functioning well for the city and needs of all users are approrpriately balanced. Car parking is a common use for kerbside space and we’ve heard from our parking customers that they are looking for a more simple, fair and reliable parking service. This plan will give us the tools to deliver this.

Yes. When kerbside space is working optimally, it benefits city businesses through improved economic productivity and boosted spend. In Melbourne, when parking was unrestricted during COVID-19, the average turnover of each parking space in Russell Street decreased from 23 to 10 times per day. If replicated across the CBD this represents potential lost city spend of up to $1.9M per day. While the Plan will ensure the city’s kerbside space is working as hard as possible, on-street space represents only a small proportion of the total parking capacity in the municipality. There are approximately 68,000 commercial off-street spaces in the municipality compared to around 1,800 on-street metered parking spaces in the CBD and 8,500 outside the CBD. The Plan identifies the opportunity for better use of this significant existing off-street parking capacity.

A survey of 1000 parking customers showed that more than 80 per cent of people who needed to find a parking space in the city found it difficult or very difficult to find one on-street the last time they visited. Improving how the City of Melbourne manages the demand for on-street space and providing better information to customers about where to find parking that suits their needs will reduce stress and improve the experience of parking in the city for those that need to drive. Simplified signage and parking controls will also improve the experience of parking in the city by reducing confusion and genuine mistakes made by customers.

The Draft Plan does not propose increasing the price of parking above the current maximum. A fairer, data-led and more transparent approach to pricing parking – demand based pricing – is proposed to be introduced in two years. Demand based pricing involves setting the price of parking at the lowest possible fee that adequately manages parking demand in an area. This means in areas with high parking availability, we will reduce the price of parking. The Draft Plan proposes that Council will play an important role in agreeing the parameters within which demand based pricing will operate in the future.

Through implementing the Draft Plan, we expect to see a reduction in the number of fines issued by up to 10 per cent as a result of delivering simplified signage and parking controls to reduce complexity and genuine mistakes. Our approach to parking enforcement will focus on behaviour change and supporting voluntary compliance as priorities. Any increase in parking fines will not be viewed as a measure of success but a possible indicator of a problem with our parking management settings in an area – which then requires investigation and resolution.

The Draft Plan supports the City of Melbourne’s commitments to environmental sustainability and directly delivers on Outcome 7 and Actions 20 and 21 of the City of Melbourne Transport Strategy 2030. The Draft Plan supports the release of car parking spaces for strategic city needs including new public spaces and parks, urban forest and sustainable transport. Better managed parking and kerbside space means a reduction in vehicles cruising streets searching for an available car park - reducing vehicle kilometers travelled and vehicle emissions within the municipality.

The Draft Parking and Kerbside Management Plan was informed by engagement with key stakeholders in 2022, including members of the community, buisnesses and people in the transport sector. The plan proposes future neighbourhood level engagement as part of a refreshed approach to parking management and a commitment to ongoing engagement and review.