Councils still raking in parking cash
Councils across Melbourne continue to make a pretty penny from parking fees and fines, with one inner-city council cashing in $93 mil in just one year despite introducing measures to deter car use in the area.
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Inner city councils are still pulling in huge dollars from parking fees and fines despite moves to deter car use in the central city.
Five inner councils raised $154 million in parking cash over the past year, up from $134.6 million in 2017-18, a Sunday Herald Sun analysis has found.
The councils surveyed were Melbourne, Port Phillip, Yarra, Hobsons Bay and Darebin.
The City of Melbourne, which includes the CBD and suburbs like Carlton, Docklands and Southbank, had the biggest windfall with about $93 million in parking fees and fines collected in 2018-19.
This was $2 million more than the previous year despite a $6 million fall in infringement revenue.
That loss was offset by an almost $8 million boost to parking fee collection.
However, it was recently revealed that Melbourne City Council is owed $57.1 million in unpaid fines due to significant IT problems affecting Fines Victoria.
It’s understood that several affected councils have met with Attorney-General Jill Hennessy to discuss the issue.
In 2018-19, the City of Port Phillip, which includes St Kilda and South Melbourne, raised $30.3 million in parking revenue, up slightly on the previous year.
It has an unpaid fines debt of about $23 million.
Port Phillip Mayor Dick Gross said that parking was under pressure due to rising demand from a growing residents’ population and the area’s popularity with visitors.
“Through the use of timed paid parking, council aims to achieve a fair turnover so as many people as possible can park, reducing congestion caused by drivers looking for a spot and improving access to businesses,” he said.
The City of Yarra, which includes Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond, raised $26.25 million over the past year compared to $24 million in 2017-18.
Darebin Council, which has Northcote and Preston, collected $4.89 million in parking revenue in 2018-19, slightly more than the previous year.
And Hobsons Bay raised a total $3.55 million over the past year, up about $450,000 on 2017-18.
Inner city councils are trying to encourage less driving through their areas with lower speed limits and reduced vehicle lanes.
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The City of Melbourne’s recent transport strategy gave priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, and proposed to cut the number of cars coming into the city by 50,000 a day.
The council will also reduce the number of on-street parking spaces and lobby for some form of congestion charge.