VIC Legislation Impacts on Retailers
In the June news released by the peak industry body for the Parking industry, Parking Australia, the association has expressed concern around the lack of consultation regarding the introduction of legislation by the Andrews Government in Victoria. This new legislation removes the ability for a private property owner to reasonably identify and seek to recover […]
Lord Howe Island follows the sustainable path
As reported in the SMH, the residents on Lord Howe Island (LHI) have committed to become pioneers in renewable energy. With the island’s World Heritage-listed status, the renewable energy path is a natural progression. As commented by Penny Holloway, LHI Board Chief Executive, “it’s not been a difficult decision for the island to move to […]
Car parks are hot property in Sydney, too
As reported in the Property Observer, a spirited auction for an undercover Potts Point car space fetched $264,000. This price reflected around $10,000 per square metre. In an area that has been described as the toughest in Australia to find a car space – with almost 25,000 residents living in a 1.89 square kilometre, restaurant mecca […]
Melbourne CBD – Motorcycles in, Cars Out
The Melbourne Age recently reported that “motorcycles and scooters will be given preferential treatment over cars and trucks in Melbourne’s inner city”. As part of Melbourne City Council’s (MCC) 2015-2018 Motorcycle Plan, a key idea is to expand motorcycle parking across the municipality. The document highlights that with more motorcyclists on the roads, this will result […]
Car Parking – Where is it headed?
We are proud to announce the release of the 2015 Whitepaper on CBD Car Parking, a joint project between Parking & Traffic Consultants and Colliers International. The focus of this report is the changing landscape of CBD car parking and the resulting challenges and opportunities created in the car parking business. In our CBDs, supply […]
Would London’s Congestion Charging work in Australia?
If you had to pay $20 to enter the CBD by car, would you take public transport instead? Apparently, if London’s experience is translatable, the answer is yes! In 2003, in an attempt to improve the untenable congestion and pollution that plagued Central London, the government introduced “Congestion Charging”. All private and commercial vehicles entering […]
Four days a year stuck in Sydney traffic
The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported a study by the GPS company TomTom which has named Sydney the most congested city in the Antipodes, and ranked it among the world’s worst, coming in at 21st place. Tuesday and Wednesday were determined to be the worst days of the week, and for every half-hour travelled at […]
Dutch cycling experts offer advice on road safety
There’s no easy answer to the problems of cycling safety in Australia, but the first order of business is a change in attitude toward cycling and cyclists. This was the observation of Dutch experts, Arie Vijfhuizen and Martijn te Lintelo, recently visiting Australia on a national tour speaking about road safety and cycling, reports the […]
Decluttering Confusing Signage
The City of Sydney has been presented with a motion to simplify parking and traffic signage across the city. As reported in The Daily Telegraph, Cr Jenny Green presented the motion asking the Council’s CEO to investigate what other cities and local councils are doing to simplify signage. Mosman Council is undergoing a plan to […]
Will infrastructure planning be compromised?
Australian planners may face working without the benchmark information and guidance supplied by the Australian Census. On 18th February the Australian Federal Government announced that it was considering abandoning the Australian Census in favour of smaller sample surveys. The Australian Census has been held every five years since 1911 with the last census being held […]
School Traffic: Looking at reduction options
In the last of our school traffic series, we are taking a look at some of the school traffic congestion alternatives being put forward locally and overseas. The alternatives relate not only to traffic congestion but also how school communities can encourage more active alternatives for children travelling to and from school. In Mosman, Councillor […]
School Traffic Safety: why won’t parents learn?
In NSW the Police and school principals are appealing to motorists and parents to refrain from dangerous driving behaviour in and around schools. In just the first four days of this school year, there has been a 17% increase in the number of motorists caught speeding and a 24% rise in illegal parking infringements issued […]
School traffic targeted by Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council plans to target school traffic in 2015 by deploying parking officers in school pick-up and drop-off zones. The Council has commissioned eight marked cars for use by parking officers to enable them to enforce school zone traffic rules and deal with parking issues around the city’s schools. Council will also work with […]
Welcome to Parking Australia’s new president – Cristina Lynn
Photo credit: Parking Australia We would like to welcome the new President of Parking Australia, Cristina Lynn. At the Parking Australia event in Sydney on Wednesday 10th December, long standing President Larry Schneider announced his retirement from the role. Cristina is the Managing Partner at Parking and Traffic Consultants and has been actively involved in […]
2014 Australia and New Zealand Green Building Market Report
Photo Credit: Sourceable.net The 2014 Green Building market report for Australia and New Zealand has just been released. Between March and May 2014, 133 developers, architects, builders and subcontractors in Australia and 110 in New Zealand provided feedback on their views and experiences with green building. Findings include: In Australia: 90% of respondents have been […]
Victoria Decides – Traffic congestion and public transport high on the agenda
In the days counting down to an election the promises and future party policies are announced in rapid fire as last ditch attempts to persuade the undecided. Every speech is an attempt to impress the overall electorate with the “trust us – we know what you really really want” persona of political parties. This process […]
Brisbane’s Priority Cycle Crossing
In an effort to improve safety for cyclists along a notorious stretch of road, the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council are working together on a trial which will give cyclists priority crossing areas along the North Brisbane Bikeway. As reported in the Courier Mail, the crossings include a raised platform and the use of […]
Canberra Pay Parking sparks surge in Bus use
The introduction of paid parking in the Parliamentary Triangle has finally moved Canberrans to leave the car behind and utilise the bus network, reports the Canberra Times. The change was introduced in order to increase the number of spaces available to visitors to the national institutions ( e.g., National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Old Parliament […]
Adelaide parking tax quashed
The recent introduction of South Australia’s controversial parking tax was voted down in Parliament last week, reports ABC news. An Opposition amendment to remove the tax was passed with the support of both Family First and Independent MPs. This was welcome news for the Property Council of Australia and the State Coalition to Repeal the […]
Adelaide embraces Park(ing) Day 2014
Hats off to the City of Adelaide, putting Australia on the map as one of the southern hemisphere’s most enthusiastic supporters of World Park(ing) Day, set for September 19th. With its origins in 2005 in San Francisco, Park(ing) day is an annual event held on the third Friday of September, which sees parking spaces converted […]
SA trials Bluetooth traffic monitoring system
Adelaide is trialling a new system of traffic monitoring that picks up data from Bluetooth receivers in passing cars, and provides real-time traffic advisories to help drivers avoid congested areas. The new technology has been developed by the SA Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure (DPTI), as reported in The Advertiser. The Adelaide trial involves approximately […]
Parking people adapt well to GenFlux
We have had permission from US-based Vanessa Solesbee to re-blog her recent article that appeared in The Parking Professional magazine on The Importance of People. The article explains why parking industry people seem to be adapting particularly well to the new paradigm, “Generation Flux”, where mastering change has become the defining characteristic of today’s successful […]
Journey to a Better Block
An enthusiastic group of Dallas residents recently transformed a busy intersection into a pop-up pedestrian plaza. The notable feature of the event, reported in Treehugger, was not just that they found yet another use for duct tape — the weekend event was actually an effort to revitalize a stalled community redevelopment project that had come […]
Melbourne’s worst parkers in the spotlight
For the last post of the financial year, we thought we would celebrate parking with a bit of light relief. As we all know, the days of anonymity are long gone since the advent of Social media and smart phones with cameras. Back in the day, you could do something really stupid and no-one had […]
Executive Cycle Suit sans Lycra
For cyclists, the home to office commute will now be even more efficient, with the latest business suit technology available from the US. Using Australian 135 Performance wool (breathable, moisture and odour resistant, and a little bit stretchy), San Francisco-based company Parker Dusseau has designed the “Commuter Suit”. It is designed to move like cyclists […]
Transport NSW trials CITS technology for truckies
In an initiative aimed at improving traffic flow and reducing heavy vehicle collisions, Transport NSW has announced a trial of a high-tech early warning system for truck drivers. As reported in the Illawarra Mercury, heavy vehicles will be fitted with Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (CITS) technology which allows trucks to transmit and receive warnings about […]
Controversial plans for transport overhaul in Melbourne CBD
The Napthine government has announced major changes to the transport system in Melbourne ahead of the November election, including the capping of fares at Zone 1 level, and the commencement of free trams in the CBD from Jan 1, 2015. As reported in The Age, the scheme is expected to cost $100 million per year, […]
Weekend clearways address Sydney’s constant congestion
In a bid to solve weekend traffic congestion around Sydney, the Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, has recently implemented weekend clearways on Victoria Road, with another four major stretches around the city earmarked for the same (Lane Cove Road, Mona Vale Road, Princes Highway and King Georges/Roberts Road). In an editorial piece in the SMH (second […]
Congestion to cost economy $15bn per year by 2030
According to an article last week in the Australian Financial Review, the Abbott government was unmoved by the arguments of the Tourism and Transport Forum, whose members are urging the government to reconsider its position not to invest in public transport. The Tourism Transport forum is an industry group of the CEOs of 200 companies […]
Beware the bollard!
Last month, AAMI published its Annual Crash statistics including state-by-state comparisons of the most common types of events. The National averages have remained reasonably consistent year to year in most categories, with the most common cause, nose-to-tail collisions, hovering between 27% and 29%. Second on the list is the “parked car ding” which by contrast, […]