Mosman Council votes on parking meter increase after opposition, ‘insults’ from residents

A north shore council has determined plans for a contentious parking meter fee hike in a move a restaurant owners believe could leave customers thinking twice about dining in the area.

Anonymous ‘insults’ were sent to Mosman Council over its contentious plans to jack up beachside parking meter fees by up to 75 per cent.

Parking at six foreshore areas including Balmoral will soon cost motorists up to $40 per day after the meter increases were approved by a majority of councillors at last week’s meeting.

The decision follows community consultation that generated feedback raising concerns that parking fees were then “already too high” and the increase would be “excessive”.

A photo of a parking meter at Balmoral Beach.

In response to the feedback, Mosman Council’s staff recommended reducing some of the larger 75 per cent increases including at Balmoral, Clifton Gardens, Rosherville Reserve and The Spit.

The reduction would have meant motorists would have paid $25 a day instead of the $40 proposed during the off-peak season.

Four of six councillors attending this week’s meeting however voted to push ahead with the 75 per cent increases.

Mosman councillor Simon Menzies supported the increase.

Councillor Simon Menzies said most of the frosty feedback came from non-Mosman residents.

“I feel a sense of being intimidated. We did get some bad publicity – that’s the nature of being Mosman and the stigma that comes with it,” he said.

“(The feedback I’ve had) from the community is that people coming to Mosman and using the services here should be paying a fair and reasonable amount and a contribution to the facilities they’re using.

“We should stand our ground given the objections seem to be coming from outside of the area.”

The fee increase will come into effect on July 1.

The council’s general manager Dominic Johnson said scrapping the larger increases would be “quite reasonable” at a time when the cost of “everything is going up” – noting that the 75 per cent increases were only estimated to add about $40,000 to the council’s budget bottom line.

“We did get some pretty strong submissions – I’m not sure if everyone was actually brave enough to sign their name to the submissions or insults, I’m not sure which. Nor were they necessarily Mosman residents,” he said.

Councillor Roy Bendall said the increases would bring Mosman’s fees in line with similar rates charged by the bordering Northern Beaches Council.

The parking rates will apply to sites including The Spit.

“We’ve gone through the pain, we’ve gone through the bad publicity. We may as well stick to our guns. If objectors aren’t going to put their names to submissions like cowards then so what?” he said.

Alessandro Pavoni, the executive chef at Ormeggio at The Spit, has hit out at the decision, saying it could result in fewer customers dining at his restaurant.

“People are already doing it tough and it will impact businesses who already have high rents and salaries,” he said.

Alessandro Pavoni said the parking meter increase could hurt businesses,

“Our customers will have to pay to have lunch or dinner plus have to spend $40 for parking – they may as well stay home.

“I already have people who’ve called me in the past and left because the parking is too expensive.

“Who’s going to benefit? The council’s revenue, that’s it.”

The council’s decision means that from July 1, maximum all day charges at Balmoral Beach will increase 75 per cent from $20 to $35 in the May to September months and $35 to $40 in the peak October to April season. Hourly rates will also jump from $9 to $10 during the peak season and $5 to $8 between May and September.

The changes in parking costs will also impact those stopping opposite the entrance of Taronga Zoo, with meter fees at Bradleys Head Rd to rise by 13 per cent to a maximum of $7.50 per hour and $22 a day.

Parking at Clifton Gardens and Rosherville Reserve will have drivers forking out up to 75 per cent more with daily maximum charges rising from $25 to $40 from October to April and from $20 to $35 in May to September.

The council said it would be the first significant rise in the council’s meter fees since the 2013/14 financial year.

Councillor Pip Friedrich – who along with Mayor Carolyn Corrigan voted against the increase – said the fee hike was “not a good look”

“It sounds terrible in the current environment where everyone is anxious – it just sounds bad and really amounts to $40,000 which is not going to impact services to our community,” she said.