By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
TIME limits, “attendants” and a park-and-ride system have been mooted as solutions to Surf Coast’s annual summer beach car parking congestion.
Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) suggested the options in a report on coastal transport, seeking community feedback.
One option suggested restricting parking at popular beaches to four hours to increase the turnover of spaces.
The report suggested parking on residential streets within five minutes’ walk of beaches could be restricted to two hours, with residents and their visitors exempted.
“The parking restrictions would need to be regularly enforced to ensure that they are effective,” the report said.
Seventy per cent of beachgoers stayed for between three and five hours and only four per cent remained longer, the report said.
“Allowing people to park at the beach all day (and longer) is an inequitable and inefficient use of scarce resources.
“There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some people park a vehicle at the beach for weeks at a time and use it as a storage locker for beach equipment.”
A park-and-ride system could operate from a satellite car park and catch a bus to the beach, the report said.
“Such a system is unlikely to be popular initially due to perceived inconvenience.”
Providing drop-off bays at popular beaches and marking out spaces even in unsealed car parks could prevent “indiscriminate” parking, possibly directed by attendants.
Other options included directing visitors to less crowded beaches through signs, a smart phone app and leaflets.
The report said the pressure was increasing on car parking at peak demand times and at popular beaches, with visitors reporting more difficulty in finding a parking space.
“During peak holiday season, this can lead to congestion and indiscriminate parking behaviour.”
The report said coastal areas were among the most highly visited and intensively used in Victoria, with visitation expected to increase because of growing populations in Geelong and Melbourne’s western suburbs.
A strategy was needed to manage visitor demand, enable convenient access to the beach, enable emergency access, limit impact on the coastal environment and minimise inconvenience to local residents and traders, the report said.
The report also made reference to parking “pricing” but did not mention meters as an option.
The Independent revealed in 2008 that GORCC wanted to install meters in beach car parks at Torquay. The plan failed amid community opposition, including calls for the committee to be disbanded.
The survey is available online and at the GORCC office, Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park and Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park.
The survey closes 9 February.
