MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has left the door open to rolling out paid parking at popular beach foreshores despite significant concerns raised during a recent trial – with one councillor labelling it “total mayhem”.
The controversial parking trail, which began last December, has seen visitors charged $6.20 an hour or $19.50 a day to park at Sunnyside Beach, Mt Eliza, Schnapper Point (near the pier), Mornington and near Flinders pier. Parking is free for peninsula residents who have an e-permit.
The trial aimed to “not only generate a steady revenue stream for the council but also ensure that visitors contribute fairly to the maintenance and improvement of these beautiful and heavily frequented areas,” a council report stated. But it quickly became a source of frustration for many beachgoers, who reported confusion over the new system.
This included challenges using the payment technology (particularly for senior residents or people with a disability), poor internet coverage, frustration with the ePermit application, fee and infringement objections, as well as an impact to businesses with some experiencing a drop in customers, and parking restrictions (“Fishers caught in paid parking net” The News 4/12/23).
Despite these issues, councillors at their 3 September meeting were to decide whether to make visitor paid parking permanent across all Mornington Peninsula Shire Port Phillip Bay foreshore areas following a recommendation from the shire’s officers.
While Cr Despi O’Connor successfully moved an amended motion asking for a deferral, it meant councillors would not rule out the possibility of implementing paid parking until early next year. She argued paid parking was needed to pay for the maintenance costs of the foreshores which was about $8 million last financial year and that developing a policy was pivotal to “move forward in a positive step”.
“We know that the influx of visitors weighs heavily [and] rate capping and increasing costs have made renewal and installation of new infrastructure out of reach to meet expectations of residents and our visitors,” she said. “I’m determined to see good policy in place to ensure that a system of paid parking is fair to visitors and residents, so that the load is in fact shared between all of us who use this beautiful space.”
The motion was narrowly won in a 6-5 vote with Mayor Cr Simon Brooks and councillors O’Connor, Holland, Mar, Roper and Race voting in favour. But deputy mayor Cr Antonella Celi vehemently opposed the proposal saying, “this pilot has caused nothing but angst, confusion and total mayhem for our locals and visitors”. “This is just kicking the can down the road, and I don’t think it actually responds to the will of the community,” she told the meeting after her attempt to abandon paid parking in an alternative motion was rejected.
“There is no support for this proposal from the Dromana Foreshore Committee or other committees along the foreshore on the southern peninsula, and we have also heard loud and clear from community business, through media socials, petitions and presence in the gallery – they don’t want visitor paid parking implemented.”
Cr Celi voted against the deferral along with councillors Bissinger, Marsh, Dixon, and Gill. Cr Marsh said the scheme should “crash and burn”, noting “I think our local businesses are already facing significant challenges. I feel sorry and I guess somewhat ashamed by the outcomes that we’ve had in Mornington and possibly down in Flinders”.
According to the council report, the estimated revenue of the pilot if it continued over 12 months was $805,000 in parking fees and $1.2 million in fines. The pilot will finish at 8pm on 14 September “allowing for a number of the high-priority recommendations to be addressed” if paid parking was to be permanent, the shire’s report stated.
Cr Susan Bissinger said the cost-of-living crisis was already putting a strain on households and described the parking fees as putting a “paywall” on beaches, which “belong to everyone”.
Paul Pingiaro, owner of Mornington Boat Hire, told The News that foot traffic at his business was down just under 50 per cent since the pilot began, with other businesses also feeling the pinch. He said if the proposal was to be considered, it needed to be conducted in a “proper open and transparent manner” with a full environmental, economic, and social impact study undertaken. “A number of social and charity groups have contacted me telling me that they no longer frequent the Schnapper Point precinct due to the fact that a) they’re customers can’t afford the parking and b) that they can’t use the technology,” Mr Pingiaro said.
Cr Race said she supported a deferral because “it’s not just about raising revenue to support coastal infrastructure, which is really important but also it means that we can actually invest back into our community”.
Snapper Point Angling club president Russell Sheppard said the pilot had not been well thought-out including a limit on ePermits for vehicles per household and being watched by CCTV at parking spots. “It’s just making everyone’s life more difficult,” he said.
Mornington MP Chris Crewther said the decision by councillors was a “good result temporarily at the trial sites for locals, visitors and small businesses, particularly those like Mark at Bay Fish N Trips whose boat the Plover sank in the storms (last week)”.
First published in the Mornington News – 10 September 2024
