By Oliver Winn
The price of parking for visitors in Warburton was settled upon in the Yarra Ranges Council meeting on Tuesday 25 February and is due to start Saturday 3 May.
The Visitor Paid Parking Pilot Project aims to ease congestion, provide fair parking and more fairly distribute the cost of maintaining infrastructure among residents and visitors.
“This Visitor Paid Parking Pilot Project is a major change for our residents and it’s important to take advantage of the variety of ways you can obtain your permit. And it’s important to ensure you get your permit so you don’t have to pay to park,” Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child said.
Residents will be able to apply for a permit to avoid paying from 17 March and can apply online, over the phone or in person.
“The Yarra Ranges region is one of Victoria’s most visited destinations, with annual visitor numbers expected to double from 4.5 million to over 9 million in the next decade,” Cr Child said.
“While this growth is vital to the local economy, it also creates significant challenges for our infrastructure, particularly in the high visitation areas like Warburton.”
Paid parking will only be enforced on public holidays and weekends at four locations in Warburton:
Warburton Waterworld – $6 per hour
Thomas Avenue – $3.50 per hour
Warburton Highway – first hour free, then $6 per hour
Station Road – $3.50 per hour
Cr Mitch Mazzarella said was happy to see the introduction of paid parking to sort out the difficulties with parking in Warburton, he was wary about the messaging for the exemption permit and said no matter how much marketing there is, people won’t know about it.
“What I’ve asked officers is: ‘Why can’t residents who do get fined for not paying have their fine waived or a warning issued on appeal because they’re a Yarra Ranges resident’,” he said.
Cr Mazzarella was also critical of the inability to pay parking fees with cash and said the added eftpos and card surcharges are ‘clipping the ticket’.
“Too bad if you don’t have a bank account, too bad if you prefer to use cash, too bad if you have to bring your card or your phone dies and you can’t use a digital card,” Cr Mazzarella said.
To work around council having to employ someone to collect cash from the machines, Cr Mazzarella suggested local businesses could store cash on their premises for a small commission.
But Cr Child said while he accepts card only payments may pose challenges to some, Yarra Ranges Council must really start looking at the way things operate now.
“I believe that the options that we are offering and the notifications that we’re giving back to the community are considerable,” Cr Child said.
If the pilot is successful, the Yarra Ranges Council plans to expand the visitor paid parking to other high tourism towns.
The motion was passed with eight councillors voting for and one against.
