We continuously seek community feedback about on-street parking, as specific neighbourhood engagement periods are just one element of our feedback collection. The following feedback relates to specific engagement periods for South Yarra.
The feedback we received during these engagement periods has informed the improvements we will roll out, and we won’t set and forget the new conditions once works are complete. We'll give the community time to adjust and then review the functionality and performance of those changes.
You can have your say any time on parking in your neighbourhood by completing the “always on” survey. The next review of your neighbourhood will use this data to inform future changes.
Initial consultation March - May 2026
The conversation
In 2023, the City of Melbourne released its Parking and Kerbside Management Plan, which committed to regular reviews of the kerbside parking. These reviews include proactive engagement in our neighbourhoods, and sharing the data that underpins decision-making.
For South Yarra, opinions were sought on the following topics:
- The allocation of kerbside space for parking and other uses.
- Business requirements for on-street parking, including commuter parking, pick up/drop off and loading zones.
- Resident parking options, including availability, length and prioritising access.
- Cost of parking for commuters and recreational visitors around Fawkner Park.
Gathering insights
In South Yarra, the cycle of regular reviews began with a round of engagement starting in March 2026. This engagement included a range of activities to hear from a wide cross-section of the community. These included insights gathered through business surveys, intercept surveys, interviews and targeted communications.
You can still have your say on the South Yarra Parking Review. The ‘always on’ survey allows community members to share their views on parking at any time. It provides a way to capture both ongoing issues and new challenges as they arise, complementing formal consultation activities.
How we reached you
During this cycle of engagement, we followed the City of Melbourne’s engagement guidelines to deliver accessible and inclusive engagement opportunities for the South Yarra community. These included:
- 204 in-person ‘intercept’ surveys conducted over 5 sessions with field interviewers, across weekdays and weekends in key locations across the neighbourhood.
- Key Stakeholder interviews with Alfred Hospital, Fawkner Tennis Centre, South Yarra Primary School and enforcement officers.
- 127 survey responses via the ‘always on’ survey since October 2023.
- A geo-located paid social media campaign to target people who live, work or visit South Yarra. This campaign reached more than 8500 people.
- Communications sent to all survey respondents.
- Participate Melbourne news article published and direct email notification sent to subscribers of the South Yarra Parking Review page.
- A community engagement item published on the South Yarra neighbourhood page.
- Business in Melbourne newsletter sent, with an open rate of 56% (10,139 recipients).
To receive updates by email about parking in South Yarra click the blue 'Follow' button at the top of this page.
Who we heard from
We heard from residents, visitors, businesses, and workers across South Yarra. We gathered feedback from over 330 community members during this engagement.
with residents, workers and visitors across the precinct.
with local business, primary school and community groups.
since October 2023.
Intercept surveys were conducted at key locations, including The Alfred Hospital, Domain/Park Street, Fawkner Park, and Punt Road. The survey participants included people from a range of backgrounds:
- Most participants in the survey were City of Melbourne residents (47%), followed by workers (26%), visitors (23%), business owners (1%), property owners (1%) and students (1%)
- Gender: women (52%), men (46%), and prefer not to say (2%)
- Age: most of the participants were between 30 and 64 years old (71%), followed by 65 to 90 or older (15%), and 15-29 (13%)
One-on-one interviews with the following stakeholders were conducted:
- South Yarra Primary School
- Fawkner Park Tennis Centre
- Alfred Hospital
What we heard
The engagement activities highlighted some key parking feedback. Click each heading to learn more about what we heard on each topic.
Consider parking needs
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “There needs to be more accessible parking. Just cause it says disabled doesn’t make it disability friendly.”
- "There’s no loading zone at the Royal Botanical Gardens on Birdwood Ave if volunteers need to take in something heavy.”
- “There is too much parking at the expense of green spaces like parks and benches. For example, Toorak Road has narrow footpaths and on-street dining while the road has parking.”
Staff parking and business needs
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “Development permits should make specific rules to ensure residents' rights are protected. We’re all prepared to make compromises, but this must be balanced”
- “I work on that street and have to drive to work because of where I live.”
- “Please don’t keep it at a 4-hour restriction. I would be happy to pay, just make it so we can park for as long as we would like.”
Resident parking
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “I pay for a residential parking permit each year but often cannot find parking in multiple surrounding streets of my residence. This requires me to park either close to 800m away or pay for parking”
- “Parking for residents and visitors is OK as we share with school pickups, the Alfred Hospital, Fawkner Park users, etc”
Visitor and recreation parking
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “Parking for residents who don’t own a car, as in my case, have difficulties keeping the rental car parked without infringing time limits.”
- "We do not have any permits for street parking. Very hard for visitors to park.”
Enforcement
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “Cars parking in bike lanes at any hour is very inconvenient for cyclists. Parking in cycle lanes should be banned.”
- “Parking inspectors are way too aggressive and petty.”
Here are some examples of what people told us:
- “I wonder how much of a deterrent current prices are for visitors, especially families.”
- “Don’t increase paid parking, won’t use it on weekends. Metered parking kills amenity of parking. Needs increased time limits for mixed use.”
Intercept survey participants were asked how likely it was that they would still park in South Yarra if on-street parking increased by $0.50 to $1 per hour:
- Domain/Street Park: unlikely
- Fawkner Park: likely
- Punt Road: very unlikely
- Around Alfred Hospital: very likely
Impact
Community feedback received through this engagement will inform the development of proposed parking changes in South Yarra, ensuring they reflect local needs and priorities.
These proposed parking changes will also be informed by parking data collected during this engagement period, in line with the Parking and Kerbside Management Plan.
Next steps
We will be back in South Yarra in mid 2026 to share the proposed changes to parking and hear from community if we have got the balance right.
We won’t set and forget the new conditions once works are complete; we'll give the community time to adjust and then review the functionality and performance of the changes. We will undertake a comprehensive review of how these changes through the regular review cycle.
Read the engagement summary report
