Colac Otway Shire considers toll plan for special zones on Great Ocean Road

A GREAT Ocean Road toll is being considered as one way of covering the spiralling maintenance costs of the tourism icon.

Motorists could pay a toll to access certain zones on the Great Ocean Road in the future.

MOTORISTS could be charged a toll for using the Great Ocean Road under a proposal that is being endorsed by the responsible council.

Colac Otway Shire has given in-principle support for a user-pays system along the iconic tourism route as a way of covering the road’s spiralling maintenance costs.

The Great Ocean Road is one of the biggest tourism destinations in Australia, attracting over five million tourists each year.

Yet concerns have been raised by the Colac Otway Shire that many of those visitors are putting a strain on underfunded facilities while not spending money in the region.

“They could create a zone somewhere along the Great Ocean Road — draw a line on the map, essentially, and within that zone people would have to pay a fee to enter,” Mayor Cr Joe McCracken told the Geelong Advertiser.

“This zone would have to not only consider the road itself but the wider Great Ocean Road region — there’s a vast road network in the area, including inland.”

The tolled zone could run from the welcome arch at Eastern View to Princetown, but the council would not be drawn on specific potential fees to drivers.

Cr McCracken stressed that a CityLink-style road toll was only one of several options and the council was “not locked into any options.”

“We support in principle a user pays system, but would leave the details to the State Government,” he said.

“Facility and foreshore maintenance is the key issue being communicated to by the community and user-pays would allow us to improve the overall tourism experience.”

Cr McCracken said tours serving lunch on buses and extensive daytrip options meant very little money was actually being spent in the area carrying the most strain.

“Councils are bearing the cost of the visitor economy – such as toilets, waste collection and parking — whereas the profits from these activities are largely enjoyed by businesses outside the region,” he said.

Polwarth MP Richard Riordan suggested a user-pays scheme for the road last year suggesting tourist buses and hire cars add a levy to their fees to help cover the maintenance costs of “disgracefully substandard”toilets along the route.

Colac Otway Shire raised user-pays in its response to the Great Ocean Road Issues Paper, a study that will determine the future governance and direction of the area.

Torquay Commerce and Tourism president Cathy Stacey declined to comment on whether the organisation would support tolling the road.

Originally published as Colac Otway Shire considers toll plan for special zones on Great Ocean Road