Fewer car parks, more fees: The Melbourne suburbs facing a ‘car lite’ overhaul

The number of new parking spaces in suburbs with Suburban Rail Loop stations would be capped and councils urged to impose fresh parking restrictions under a state government plan to create “car lite” zones and reduce vehicle ownership.

Planning documents reveal the Allan government wants to limit on-street parking and suggest reallocating roads for “active travel” in parts of the middle-ring eastern suburbs of Cheltenham, Clayton, Box Hill, Monash, Glen Waverley and Burwood.

An artist’s impression of how the area around the SRL’s Clayton station might look.

Draft Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) technical documents, including precinct parking plans for each suburb, show neighbourhoods near the new stations would have “de facto caps”, limiting the number of car spaces allowed at new apartments, office spaces and supermarkets.

The government’s plan would result in 17,500 fewer car parking spaces being built across the six Suburban Rail Loop East suburbs by 2041 compared with the status quo.

The “car lite” plan is the latest in a series of state government announcements that signal a move away from private vehicle use and encourage a shift to public and active transport, which includes cycling and walking.

Last month, the government’s new 30-year development blueprint suggested car parks around older train stations could make way for homes or open space.

Independent advisory body Infrastructure Victoria released its own report calling for speed limits on local streets be cut to 30km/h.

The SRL’s new planning documents recommend that units, offices and shops built near the new stations should no longer be required to have a minimum number of car parking spaces. Instead, a maximum parking limit would be imposed.

Surrounding neighbourhoods would have reduced minimum parking requirements, along with a new maximum limit.

In Cheltenham, central areas that currently require a minimum of two parking spaces per three-bedroom unit would instead be capped at 1.5 spots per three-bedroom unit. Surrounding neighbourhoods would have a reduced minimum rate of 1.5 car parks per three-bedroom unit and a new maximum of two spaces.

Opposition planning and housing spokesman Richard Riordan said the government’s plan to create “car lite” precincts was deeply concerning.

“Limiting car parking and repurposing road space will not stop people from owning cars; it will simply push congestion into surrounding streets and make life harder for residents,” he said.

“Can you imagine trying to push a pram with a toddler, in the rain, while carrying bags of groceries? Not everyone can ride a bike or rely on public transport, and forcing people into an unrealistic model of urban planning is reckless.”

Car use expert Elizabeth Taylor – a senior lecturer in urban planning and design at Monash University – said getting rid of minimum car parks in new apartment complexes could effectively reduce car use.

“The rate of car ownership [in apartments] is already much lower than the parking minimums require, and it’s much lower in areas that are close to high-quality public transport,” she said.

“Therefore, in relation to the SRL, it’s not unreasonable to assume that there is at least a section of the population out there that would rather have a slightly better or bigger apartment in exchange for not paying for a car park.”

But Taylor doesn’t back setting maximums, saying new car parking should be based on demand.

The SRL planning documents said there was the “potential opportunity” to implement more paid parking in areas of high demand, especially as they develop over time.

Councils should be encouraged to make on-street parking in the precincts primarily restricted to short-term use by loading vehicles, visitors and other pick-up/drop-off uses, the documents said.

The structure plans for each suburb said continuing the “status quo of providing more car parking” would not be practical for each of the suburbs into the future.

Instead, they proposed a range of measures to reduce car dependence, including reallocating road space for active and public transport, as well as designating key locations for car share schemes.

The plans said there would probably be a significant number of e-bikes in the SRL precincts based on the aspiration for the neighbourhoods to be “car lite”, and recommended “unbundling” car parking, in which people can lease or buy parking spaces in apartment complexes from an owners’ corporation.

One of the documents stated: “Car parking provision, whether on or off-street, is a key factor that influences people’s decision to own and use a car. Continuing to provide car parking with developments in line with the wider area will increase congestion and the inefficient use of space.”

Monash Mayor Paul Klisaris said the council was cautious about the removal of minimum car parking requirements, particularly in areas where public transport accessibility was in a period of transition.

“Council supports SRL station precincts as being areas where people have various transport options,” he said.

“However, there will still be demand for private vehicle trips to access these precincts given the existing road network and existing constraints in and around each precinct.”

Whitehorse Mayor Andrew Davenport acknowledged the need for Box Hill to move away from a reliance on parking and cars, saying the council’s main focus should be on more sustainable and efficient transport modes.

A Victorian government spokesperson said SRL would help to cater for significant population growth across Melbourne.

“We’re prioritising building homes close to public transport, but we’ll continue to cater for people who prefer to use their cars,” they said.

The spokesperson said SRL train stations were intended to be high-interchange stations, similar to those in the central city, Richmond, South Yarra and North Melbourne, with convenient connections to bus and tram interchanges, walking and cycling links.

The new parking recommendations come after the government last week released precinct maps showing updated building heights for areas around the new stations, designed to promote higher-density developments and take pressure off the growing outer suburbs.

The first stage of the contentious SRL project – linking the six suburbs through an underground train line – is due to be completed in 2035, and the government says it will deliver 70,000 additional homes.

Work on the $35 billion Suburban Rail Loop East project is in its early stages, with digging expected to begin in 2026.

The full project has attracted significant criticism for its cost. If completed, it would be a 90-kilometre rail loop linking Cheltenham to Werribee.

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