Moreton Bay mayor’s ‘proactive’ plan to accommodate 50c fare initiative

Moreton Bay’s mayor has revealed plans to jump on parking pressures if they arise from the government’s 50c fare initiative

Moreton Bay’s mayor has revealed plans to jump on parking pressures if they arise from the state government’s 50c fare initiative kicking off in August.

Mayor Peter Flannery called for the state government to fund more public transport across the city.

Despite stressing the importance of more funding in the council area, Mr Flannery said plans will be put in place to support residents and the public transport sector when the initiative begins on August 5.

Mr Flannery said the city is likely to see an influx of commuters parking at train stations as they make the most of the cheaper fares.

Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery.

A monitor and manage approach will be enacted by council officers to observe the impacts of cheaper public transport fares on parking availability.

“We’re trying to be a little bit proactive and say, well, when this 50c fare session comes in, let’s see how it impacts our streets, our surrounding areas, and our residents,” he said.

“Our concern is that people who do take up this offer (are) able to get accessibility to the train stations or to be able to park at train stations or bus stations, and then that doesn’t turn them away from using public transport.

“The decrease in fares is great to initiate an increase in the take up of public transport, but we want to make sure that the experience they have is good as well, and that they can park.”

Mr Flannery said if the 50c fare initiative starts to impact locals, the council will be “careful” with how it responds to issues. 

“We’ll be responsive, but also proactive if people start to be impacted,” he said.

“Often people park across driveways when they can’t park near train stations or bus stations, they can’t get close enough so they start closing off people’s private access.

“They’re different things that we need to be ahead of the game with and make sure that if that happens, we can take action quickly to resolve those issues and make sure they don’t happen again.”

It comes after Moreton Bay’s Hills District was named one of the worst for public transport in the Climate Council report, Next Stop Suburbia: Making Shared Transport Work for Everyone in Aussie Cities, earlier this week.

“We know public transport in our City has not kept pace with demand, so it is refreshing to see this called out,” Mr Flannery said.

“The Climate Council identifies our Hills District as having the worst availability of frequent public transport and a suburb that deserves immediate attention.”