Yarra Ranges Council is continuing enforcement of parking restrictions across the Yarra Ranges, following a trial of new technology in the first half of the year to help create more equitable parking opportunities and better safety outcomes for the community.
The initial increase in enforcement came following feedback from community that cars were parking in no stopping zones or overstaying the timed restrictions, resulting in safety concerns, a lack of available parking spaces for other motorists and general traffic disruption.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Councillor Sophie Todorov, said that the increased enforcement would promote traffic flow, increase safety and create better accessibility for motorists to get to where they needed to go.
“We’ve had plenty of feedback from community about parking issues around the municipality, whether it’s cars parking where they shouldn’t be or leaving them for the day or at least a lot longer than the restrictions state,” Cr Todorov said.
“We know that parking restrictions are a divisive issue and that no one wants to receive a fine, but we have a responsibility for, and a need to enforce correctly, not just from a traffic flow and fairness perspective, but for safety reasons too.
“This is especially important given the increased visitation to the Yarra Ranges that we’ve seen, and what is predicted in the future.
“We encourage people to consider how long they need to park for and then to park in the appropriate places to avoid the risk of being fined.”
Along with increased enforcement officers, camera based technology mounted to Yarra Ranges Council branded vehicles will continue being used to monitor areas with parking restrictions.
The technology increases the efficiency of staff in patrolling such a large region, allowing them to cover more ground in less time.
