By JESSE GRAHAM
VISITING towns in the Yarra Valley during peak tourist times shows how parking times can cause chaos and frustration, and fines are easily racked up if visitors don’t watch the clocks.
But traders in Marysville, a town currently without parking restrictions on its main street, have called for restrictions to be brought in, to stop long-term visitors clogging up the main streets.
Murrindindi Shire Council announced on Thursday 9 July that the council would be bringing in timed parking restrictions of four hours along Murchison Street, with one hour parking in high-traffic places, such as in front of the Marysville Country Bakery.
Councillor Christine Challen said that increased visits to the town and nearby Lake Mountain meant that the town had a “great deal” of activity in peak times.
“This has necessitated a re-think on how parking can best be managed during traffic peaks to enable visitors and locals to enjoy the town and go about their daily activities in the commercial centre of town,” Cr Challen said.
She said the council was approached by a group of local businesses to improve the signage for the all-day off-street parks, as well as bringing in timed restrictions on Murchison Street, due to overnight visitors parking along the main street.
“New short term parking limits will encourage better flow through and access by multiple customers,” she said.
Cross Country Ski Hire owner Greg McEwen told the Mail that as his business was surrounded by two accommodation providers, customers often weren’t able to park nearby due to visitors using the Murchison Street parks.
“Unfortunately, the (Vibe Hotel) architects aren’t psychologists,” Mr McEwen said.
“They put a huge car park at the back, (but) it’s obscured from view of people travelling into town.
“When they’re parked up, it’s a 200-300 metre walk to their accommodation with their luggage – or they can park unlimited for free directly outside, and that’s why people do it and I would, too.”
Mr McEwen said the parking was an issue “every weekend”.
“We rely on through traffic for the winter – all our trade is people picking up their gear and driving to Lake Mountain – if they can’t get access to near our shop, obviously, they’ll shop elsewhere or they’ll keep driving,” he said.
He said he was happy with the parking restrictions being brought in, though he noted he would have preferred to have it in place in time for the recent school holidays.
Marysville and Triangle Business and Tourism Association (MTBTA) president, Christine Adams said the timed parking was “absolutely necessary” to keep traffic moving.
“It’s only natural – tourism is certainly picking up in these last couple of years, which is great,” she said.
“We want to keep people coming up and keep the movement happening.”
Ms Adams said the town had plenty of off-street all-day parking, so visitors still had options if they needed to park for more than four hours.
Marysville Country Bakery owner Kevin Ly said he thought the current all-day parking was fine, but that he was happy to give the timed restrictions a try.
“Saturdays and Sundays, that’s where we get all of our traffic and day-trippers and things like that,” Mr Ly said.
“When there’s an event going on, that might play a big part of it … but it’s a good thing when you see a lot of cars parked on the main street.
“Whether we have the time limit or not, it doesn’t really matter from my point of view anyway – but we can only try.”
A release from the Murrindindi Shire Council said the signs would be trialled until the end of the winter season, and would be followed by community feedback on its effectiveness.
