MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is likely to consider providing more foreshore car parking at McCrae as part of a McCrae lighthouse master plan.
McCrae resident Kathy Ball said the recent loss of some parking spaces had led to parking chaos for locals.
Ball said she and other residents had approached the council many times regarding the removal of at least 15 car spaces opposite Penny Lane to make way for a garden area. Visiting beachgoers are now double parking on the main road and clogging up side streets, leaving residents with nowhere to park, she said.
“If you drive down Point Nepean Road from now the cars are parked two-deep along the main road, we have seen so many kids open their doors and just jump out straight into the traffic – I actually can’t believe there hasn’t been an accident, but I am sure there will be one in the future,” Ball said.
“The other problem is that all the tiny little unmade streets along the road are also filling up so the locals are getting all their car spots for families taken by the beachgoers who just pull up and park anywhere.
“I counted 35 cars in Margaret Street and double parking all on the house sides of Point Nepean Road the other day.
“I know this will still happen, but if they allowed more parking off the road there would be less parking in streets – it has only happened in the last two years since they have turned the car parks into gardens and blocked an area around the tree that has fallen down instead of chopping it down for safety”.
Ball said the council was misguidedly leaving dead trees and grasses in public areas under a “beautification” program, rather than cleaning some areas up and making them available for parking.
Melissa Burrage, climate change and sustainability manager, said the 2015 Rosebud coastal management plan included actions to review and assess the number of vehicle access points and routes east of the McCrae lighthouse and to prepare a foreshore car parking plan to investigate foreshore car parking.
Burrage said the proposed plan needed to be developed in consultation with the community and consider the significant value of vegetation along the foreshore, while also addressing issues of surface quality, layout, stormwater drainage, public facilities, amenity, shade, pedestrian accessibility and increasing demand.
“The shire is currently focussing on a budget bid for the McCrae lighthouse master plan to complement the recent restoration of the lighthouse. This master plan will include proposals to improve car parking neighbouring the lighthouse,” she said.
“Further foreshore car parking plans within the area will be prioritised in future years.”
Strategic and infrastructure planning manager Katanya Barlow said the peninsula was a popular summer destination and advised residents and beachgoers to consider all modes of transport to get around, including walking, cycling and public transport.
“Council’s usual parking enforcement program is running with an increased presence through summer,” she said.
“If there are areas of particular concern where increased parking enforcement is required, these can be reported to the shire.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 17 January 2023
