Car Park Costs – how much did you say??
Occasionally, people inquire as to the costs involved in building a car park. This is not an easy question to answer as there are many variables to consider — Is it at-grade or multi-storey, CBD or regional, number of bays, which state and city?….I rest my case! Fortunately, there are excellent resources available for a […]
Parking surplus in Melbourne
It is said that the best car park is the one you don’t have to build. With that in mind, one key question to be asked when planning a new development should be: what is the forecasted parking demand and the existing supply in the vicinity of the site? Parking spaces have a significant impact […]
Future Melbourne
Melbourne is growing at a fast pace and is expected to surpass Sydney by 2030. A Time Out article identified 7 developments designed to accommodate the city’s fast expansion. Here are our favourites: Metro Tunnel The $10.9 billion underground tunnel will enable more trains to pass through the City Loop. The project, which is planned […]
Commuting in Melbourne versus Sydney
It may be commonplace to state that traffic in Sydney is worse than in Melbourne. After all, Sydney’s population is larger and the harbour splits the city in two making it harder to cross from one side to the other. Surprisingly, a new study challenges this common notion, as reported by The Conversation. Researchers from […]
In-ground traffic lights
A trial of in-ground traffic lights is being conducted by the NSW state government to reduce accidents involving pedestrians, especially those addicted to their mobile phones. In-ground traffic lights were installed at the intersections of Pitt and Goulburn streets, and Hay and Dixon streets, as reported by SMH. The lights turn red to signal pedestrians […]
Sky cycling
The world’s longest elevated cycling path opened last month in China…
Car parks are still a sought-after investment
We have recently seen a flow of articles about the future of private vehicles and the changes that self-driving cars and the sharing economy will bring to our lives. However, in the foreseeable future, it is still not completely clear how and to what extent these trends will affect car parks. As we have been […]
Vandalising parking meters: coming to a street near you!
I was recently directed to an article appearing in The Age about how the citizens of a Melbourne suburb literally dealt a blow to the Council’s attempts to manage parking in the district. They resorted to bashing up the meters with hammers and other hooligan-istic practices. I have to say that this is nothing new […]
Melbourne car parks valued at $100m+ up for sale
Two car parks located in Melbourne, have hit the market at a time when the number of purpose-built commercial car parks is rapidly declining. According to Urban Developer, the combined sale of these two car parks will see more than 1,000 parking bays on offer with a value of more than $100 million. This […]
Will Melbourne commuter car parks ease congestion?
Is building multi-level car parks at train stations the best way to encourage the use of trains by commuters? This question was presented in a recent article in the Melbourne Age, whereby Metro (Melbourne’s rail operator) proposed to build a multi-storey car park at some of Melbourne’s busiest railway stations and potentially charge commuters to […]
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 […]
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 […]
Cost to build a car park- and more!
Read the 2019 updated version of this post. Occasionally, people inquire as to what it costs to build a car park (this week, in fact). This is not an easy question to answer quickly, as there are many variables to consider — Is it at-grade or multi-storey, CBD or regional, number of bays, which […]
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 […]
Car park conversion to luxury apartments
Melbourne developer, Grocon, is breaking down the miserable reputation of the car park with a rather unusual project. The development, known as QV8, is converting part of a car park into luxury apartments, as reported by news.com.au. Located on the top floor of the car park in the QV building on Lonsdale Street, the finished […]
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 […]
Melbourne cyclists face parking shortages
Melbourne cyclists are growing in number, but the facilities to accommodate them have not kept pace. As reported in the The Age last month, the City of Melbourne has estimated that cyclists currently make up 15% of morning peak commuter traffic, a significant increase since 2006, when estimated at only 4%. Bicycle Network Victoria spokesperson, […]
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, […]
Hefty profit from Melbourne car park sale
Leigh Seymour made headlines last week with the announcement of the sale of a Melbourne car park for $40 million. As reported in The Australian, the Victoria University car park at 300 Flinders Street was purchased by Seymour in November 2011 for $28.2 million. Since that time, property improvements and a change of operator with […]
CBD parking space rents tipped to rise
An article in the Australian Financial Review last week tipped Sydney parking space rents to be on the rise in 2014 after four years of stagnation. The rate has been steady since 2009 at around $800 per month, yet Sydney is still the most expensive CBD rate in the country. The article is based on […]
Melbourne’s congestion levy expanded
Last month, the Victorian government announced plans to expand the reach of the congestion levy imposed on Melbourne parking spaces. Introduced in 2006, the current levy is restricted to the CBD area, but commencing 2015, the tax will be extended in all directions encompassing most of the City of Melbourne municipality. The new “Category 2” […]
2013 from the rear-vision mirror
Hard as it is to accept it, another year is about to end. When we ask ourselves “Where did it go?”, we realise that we have been too busy working to notice the passing of time! Appreciating Our Regular and New Clients 2013 has been a very successful year for us at Parking & Traffic Consultants. […]
Profit squeeze for Melbourne Airport off-site parking operators
An article last week in The Australian reported complaints of off-site parking operators being squeezed out of the market by the new seven-storey car park at Melbourne Airport. With construction only just commencing and the car park’s scheduled opening in 2015, the complaint surely couldn’t be about the pricing of car parking (yet). The issue […]
Sydney car park sells for $8.05 Million
A short and sweet article in The Australian appeared this week regarding the sale of the car park at One Dixon Street, Chinatown by Hyperion Properties to a Singapore buyer. The 93-space car park sold for just over $8 million, which puts it at approximately $80,500 per bay. Interestingly, this same property traded in 2007 […]
Parking prize at Melbourne Airport
Forget lotto – here’s a prize you might actually have a chance of winning! Promoting its Short-Term Car Park and online booking service, Melbourne Airport is running a competition that will score 12 lucky winners a permanent, private car spot – not for a month, or a year, but until 2020! Patrons of the car […]
Cool Car Park no longer an oxymoron
The adjectives and imagery most often associated with the words “car park” would undoubtedly be summarised as “dull”. Well, be prepared to challenge your preconceived ideas and marvel at the shortlist of the World’s 10 Coolest Car Parks. Yes, they do exist! The contest, run by FX Magazine and Stress Free Airport Parking, recently announced […]
Melbourne’s parking squeeze to tighten
As with many of the world’s big cities, Melbourne’s CBD is experiencing a chronic shortage of parking spaces, an issue that is likely to worsen in the coming years. According to The Age, over the past 13 years only 9551 car spaces have been added to the CBD’s supply of 38,085 commercial places while the […]
Can road pricing really improve urban productivity
The Grattan Institute has this month released a report entitled, Productive Cities: Opportunity in a changing economy offering solutions to help increase economic productivity and efficiency in Australian cities. The report analyses housing, income and transport data in Australia’s four largest cities to show that while highly paid and qualified workers are living close to city […]