Brisbane to Melbourne high-speed rail, but at what cost?

Phase two of the Federal Government’s study to construct high-speed rail (HSR) spanning from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra was released this week to a lukewarm reception. The ambitious infrastructure plan would be the largest investment of any national project, eclipsing the NBN many times over. The HSR network, comprising over 1,700 kms […]

National Cycling Strategy to make roads safer for cyclists

A report released late last year by Austroads entitled Cycling on Higher Speed Roads will dovetail into the agency’s National Cycling Strategy 2011-2016. Leon Patterson, National Director Infrastructure Management for the IPWEA says the report provides options for public works professionals to consider when seeking ways to accommodate bicycles on Australian roads. The latest report is only […]

A wild roo chase at Melbourne Airport

Melbourne Airport is clearly in the midst of a kangaroo population explosion. Following the news of one getaway kangaroo in the Melbourne Airport car park in late October, another kangaroo was chased through the car park by police this week. As police hopped the rescue, the kangaroo skipped away, eventually being sedated with a tranquiliser […]

Parking and Traffic Consultants – 2012 year in review

2012 has been another eventful year for PTC. Many new clients joined the prestigious names in our portfolio, including Perth Airport, Health Infrastructure, Adelaide University and Leichhardt Council. Many other previous clients engaged us to do new work. Just to give you an idea, during the year we worked for these airports: Adelaide, Gold Coast, […]

A year of ‘Parking and Traffic’ blogs in review

Feel like the year has passed you by too? If you’ve been too busy to stay on top of the parking and traffic industry news every week – never fear! Here is our annual round-up of the highs and lows, and headline-making stories from 2012. Parking and policy in Australia This year saw Parking & […]

13th Australian Parking Convention is a resounding success

Following in the steps of the November 2010 Convention, the Parking Association of Australia held its 13th event at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre earlier this week. The event was characterised by a high level of local and international speakers that had the delegates particularly riveted to their seats. The exhibiton, in Hall 6 […]

NSW’s proposed Opal ticketing system

Sydney residents can expect the first release of an electronic ticketing system at the end of 2012 as a part of the NSW Transport Master plan and a commitment in the NSW Budget, released in June. The ticketing system, called Opal, will be rolled out on Sydney’s ferries by the end of this year, before […]

How much does it cost to buy a car park in Melbourne CBD?

Check our updated post with 2023 car park construction costs for all Australian capital cities.   The 427-bay car park at 222 Russell Street in Melbourne’s CBD has sold for close to $17 million, at a yield of slightly more than 7 per cent. According to the Australian Financial Review, the result is a lot […]

Victorian car park congestion levy to stay

A study published by Monash University has found that the congestion charge on city car parks in Melbourne has not eased congestion. The levy, introduced in 2006, applies to 50,000 car spaces in Melbourne and was designed to stop people driving into the city. According to Yahoo, The Victorian Treasurer Kim Wells claims that the […]

Australian Parking Convention 2012 – registrations now open

A message from Cristina Lynn, Parking & Traffic Consultants’ Managing Partner.< As you may be aware the biennial convention organised by the Parking Association of Australia will be held on 11 – 13 November 2012 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Similarly to the event held in 2010 the Exhibition will be occupying Hall […]

Residents taking advantage of car park squeeze

With Brisbane’s CBD parking prices rapidly catching up to those in Sydney and Melboune, The Brisbane Times claims that a large number of inner city residents are leasing their garages and driveways to motorists, keen to avoid the off-street parking fees and on-street parking meters. Figures supplied from RentMyCarPark.com.au show that the average weekly rent […]

Road pricing may be the answer to transportation funding

In an article published on the Australian Financial Review recently, transport consultant John Cox claims that the potential introduction of road pricing is much needed with discussions going on under the surface. One of the biggest driving factors in the examination of road pricing has been the realisation that the congestion issue in Australian cities […]

Andrew Morse joins Parking and Traffic Consultants partnership

A message from Parking & Traffic Consultants’ Managing Partner, Cristina Lynn I would like to officially welcome Andrew Morse to the Parking & Traffic Consultants partnership. Andrew has cemented his commitment to the business by becoming a partner, demonstrating the success of the implementation of a traffic division within our long established parking consultancy. We […]

Bicycle infrastructure funding far from priority

An article published in The Conversation this week provides a comprehensive assessment of the benefits and costs associated with state governments’ transport policies. They claim that governments across Australia have been slow in investing in the areas that deliver maximum benefit for least cost. A recent example of this mismatch is the Victorian Government’s decision […]

Transport blueprint recommends user-pays roads

A report published by the Infrastructure Finance Working Group, a Gillard government taskforce comprising of Treasury officials and experts from ANZ, KPMG, Royal Bank of Scotland, Alinta Energy and industry associations, has recommended a stronger push towards the user-pays approach to infrastructure financing used in toll roads. According to the Australian Financial Review, charges such […]

Parking news from around Australia

In a quick summary of other news from around the parking and traffic world this week, the press is once again taking aim at airports, this time comparing the cost of parking a car to the cost of parking a plane. The article compares the base rates for parking against each other (finding that it […]

Should new freeways be tolled?

In a follow up to last week’s article on the recommendations of a government taskforce that users should pay for all new toll roads and infrastructure financing, Alan Davies of Crikey.com also explored whether new freeways should be tolled. Davies claims that the argument for tolls is straightforward – they provide the ultimate test of […]

Private parking operators ordered to stop misleading

The Victorian Supreme Court has ordered private car park operators who issue unlawful parking ‘fines’ to stop using misleading tactics. The court’s decision confirms that private parking operators cannot levy fines or prosecute motorists who stay overtime or do not display a ticket. It was alleged that a number of car park operators had breached […]

Executives value their car parks

An article published in the Sydney Morning Herald this week rated and ranked the top ‘extras’ in demand by senior business executives. A car park ranked as the third most in-demand perk; following money and holidays. (The fourth and fifth most important factors were flexibility and relocation). Given the scarcity of CBD car parks, the […]

Melbourne Airport’s Southern Precinct project

The Southern Precinct project and expansion of Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport is part of a proposed program of investment by Melbourne Airport over the next five years. The expansion project is budgeted to cost in excess of A$1 billion. According to MICEBTN magazine, Stage 1 of the project is focused on the area south of the […]

Melbourne Airport’s Southern Precinct project

The Southern Precinct project and expansion of Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport is part of a proposed program of investment by Melbourne Airport over the next five years. The expansion project is budgeted to cost in excess of A$1 billion. According to MICEBTN magazine, Stage 1 of the project is focused on the area south of the […]

Melbourne underground car park street art preview

Here is an update on Melbourne’s underground street art project we wrote about recently, as the project has started to take shape. Around 90 artists from New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Melbourne came together to paint over 8,600 square feet of wall space over the 3 levels of Emerald House in South Melbourne. Reminds us […]

Melbourne media agency brings art to their car park

The Melbourne car park of one of Australia’s biggest media agencies, Aegis, is set to undergo a dramatic transformation. Around 90 artists will contribute to what is set to become Australia’s largest exhibition of street art, with the graffiti works painted directly onto the walls of the car park. The contributing artists will hail from […]

Melbourne Airport opens new ‘Ring & Ride’ area

Melbourne Airport has introduced a new ‘Ring and Ride’ waiting area in its long term car park, where drivers can wait for arriving passengers to phone to say that they are ready to be picked up from the airport’s terminal. According to the Australian Business Traveller, Airport CEO Chris Woodruff explained that the Ring & […]

The car that stole itself

A car reported as stolen from a car park has turned up seventeen days later – apparently having parked itself perfectly into a nearby garage. The car was discovered when the homeowners returned from holidays and noticed that the door to their shed was awry. It’s believed that the hand-brake had not been properly applied, […]

Melbourne Airport outlines growth plans

Melbourne Airport has announced plans to build a $300 million passenger terminal and improve freeway access. A new terminal, Terminal Four, will be built to the south of the existing T3 building. The redevelopment will include a new multi-level car park, widened roads, new baggage facilities and several extra plane gates. The new terminal will […]

Italian couple fined for parking car illegally 1803 years ago

An Italian woman suffered shock and dizzy spells and was forced to go to the hospital after receiving a parking fine for 32,000 euros ($42,440). The Repubblica newspaper reported Sicilian police issued the head-spinning fine to the woman earlier this month. The fine was supposed to be dated 2008, but the date was incorrectly entered […]

Australian airport regulations once again in focus

Australian Airports are again in conflict with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), with the incoming ACCC chairman making a speech singling out the airports as a particular focus of attention. Press reports from SMH.com.au quote Rod Sims, the ACCC chairman, as proposing greater regulation over the services provided by the privately owned airports, […]

Cycling in China and Australia

An article published last week on The Conversation drew comparisons between cycling in China and Australia, ultimately with the aim of applying  learnings from the high bicycle usage in China to the growing but still infant usage in our country. The author, Matthew Burke, a research fellow at Griffith University, believes firstly that infrastructure is […]

Ride to work day

Yesterday, October 12, Australia held an annual ‘Ride to Work Day’. The initiative, organised by Bicycle Network Victoria, saw a big turnout across the country, with Fairfax media reporting an estimated 150,000 participants nationally (of which 40,000 in Victoria). An estimated 3.6 million Australians already ride their bikes at least once a week, with 1.1 […]


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