Maribyrnong council to spend more than its budget to install in-ground parking sensors

A Melbourne council is planning to spend $2.8m on parking sensors with locals saying the money would be better spend fixing the roads.

Maribyrnong City Council is set to pass a motion at Tuesday night’s meeting to spend $2.8m over five years to install more in-ground parking sensors to enforce parking limits. Photo: Himangi Singh.

A Melbourne council is being slammed for splurging $2.8m on in-ground parking sensors to fatten its coffers instead of fixing its roads.

Maribyrnong City Council is set to surpass its allocated budget to install in-ground parking sensors, spending more than $2.8m of ratepayer money over five years.

The council on Tuesday night will decide if it should award $2.8m to a Sydney-based

vehicle monitoring company to “enforce parking regulations in high-usage, (and) time-restricted areas”.

This is despite the cost of the new contract exceeding the allocated budget by $740,409.

Seddon resident Vic Sgro said the council should invest more in road safety and parking infrastructure before investing in a way to collect more revenue through fines.

“I can understand it might be a way to somehow force people in and out in a timely manner because car park spaces are so limited, but really, what’s needed is a two-storey car park. It’s well overdue.”

Mr Sgro said the council should invest in building more car parks to attract more people to cafes, restaurants, and pubs in the area.

“This is probably why Lygon St and Chapel St are slowly dying out because they don’t have car park facilities.”

He also said the council should put money into installing speed bumps near primary schools, a request he claimed had fallen on deaf ears.

The sensors will make it easier for the council to catch those who overstay parking time limits. Photo: generic.

Yarraville resident Belinda, who did not want her surname published, said the council should put the “huge” $2.8m investment into a “more positive” project.

“Parking around the area is very tight; the council has contributed to that by passing lots of planning permissions with parking exemptions for large apartment complexes … there’s not been any real investment in infrastructure to move those people around,” she said.

“I don’t know what the council’s motivation for (investing in parking sensors), whether it’s a strategy to try and get people out of cars, it’s a fairly negative way to approach it.

“The council needs to do something about the parking, but a $2.8m investment, I don't think is the best spent council money.”

The council raked in $6.8m in infringements and costs in 2023, an increase from $6.5m in 2022, according to its annual report.

It’s unclear exactly how much money the council brought in from in-ground parking sensors.

If the motion is passed on Tuesday night, Maribyrnong residents can expect to see more in-ground parking sensors installed starting September this year.

The council was contacted for comment.