Residents' Parking Victory - Battle Won but War still to be fought!

Hurrah, we won the battle, and residents' wishes will be fulfilled, with parking restrictions in Tiffany and Adele Courts to be aligned with adjacent streets! However, it wasn't easy and the struggle is far from over - we must remain vigilant! Moments before the council meeting where my motion was to be debated, an "officers recommendation" was tabled ahead of my more comprehensive motion. My motion, supported by the residents, called for immediate restrictions, a sweeping review and strategic plan, since we cannot keep tackling this issue piecemeal. The "officers' recommendation" just called for piecemeal installation of parking restrictions. In the end, both motions were passed, but not before some debate and angst before the meeting started!

Where we have to be vigilant, is around the enforcement of these new restrictions. As my frustrated friends, the residents of Hender Street, next to the Park & Ride will attest, enforcement can be patchy. Without effective enforcement, parking signs become mere street decorations and the culprits continue to thumb their noses at residents!

Belatedly I realised that my motion did not explicitly call for the development and implementation of an effective enforcement strategy (we have very few enforcement officers to cover a large area) ...... 

We may need to revisit this one yet, I fear. I will keep a watchful eye on this, but need your support and feedback to monitor it too. E-mail me at: ivan.reid AT manningham.vic.gov.au (substitute @ for AT). Contact the Leader Newspaper. Be vigilant.

Parking issues around Doncaster Hill

Manningham has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of cars per household in the whole of Melbourne and is the only urban municipality without any form of public rail infrastructure. Ever increasing housing density and the huge popularity of Doncaster Shoppingtown can only exacerbate the parking and congestion problems our residents already face.

To this end, I have responded to community petitions by raising the following motion to be debated at the public Council Meeting to be held Tue 2nd Feb 2010 at 7pm. I encourage all concerned residents to support me in my endeavours, by writing to "councillors@manningham.vic.gov.au" (which reaches all elected councillors) and / or attending the council meeting.

Councillor Reid's Motion:
With regard to strong community sentiment relating to on-street parking around the Doncaster Hill area, and in particular, the petition received from residents of Tiffany and Adele Courts Doncaster, Manningham Council resolves to:

1. Reflect the wishes of the majority of residents by immediately implementing Permit Parking restrictions in Tiffany and Adele Courts, Doncaster, to ensure consistency with the adjacent streets which already have these parking conditions.

2. Examine other streets around Doncaster Hill which may also have parking restrictions inconsistent with their adjoining streets and recommend measures for these streets.

3. Undertake a comprehensive strategic review of the current and projected future parking and traffic volumes around Doncaster Hill, with recommendations on suitable parking restrictions, enforcement and mitigation strategies. The review should reflect the likely continued increase in residential and commercial development within the area, particularly should the Eastern Golf Course redevelopment eventuate. It should also critically examine the current trend in parking dispensations for commercial developments and consider the impact of possible new public transport e.g. tram.

New year, parking and savings

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a peaceful and joyous start to the new year. My family and I welcomed in the new year at a friend's house and we're all filled with optimism for a great year ahead (well, we have to start somewhere to defeat all the gloom and doom being reported in the news!).

It's early days yet, but as councillors, we've already started sinking our teeth into complex and unusual matters, with a regular council meeting and two special (closed) meetings since our inauguration already...


PARKING
In the week before Christmas, I responded to frustrated traders opposite Shoppingtown, whose business and very livelihood was being adversely affected by a lack of parking spots for their own legitimate customers. I understand that some people are parking outside Autobarn, Officeworks and Clarke Rubber without the intention of shopping there, but to avoid parking at Shoppingtown instead. This practice prevents legitimate shoppers from accessing these shops. I also received calls from residents in residential streets adjoining Shoppingtown on the same issue of overflow parking.

Working with the traders, I escalated the issue to our CEO Lydia Wilson and Director of Planning, Paul Molan, who were able to improve the situation somewhat, with new signs enforcing 1 hour parking limits and increased enforcement patrols. However these measures are only a partial solution and clearly this will be an ongoing challenge that the community, Westfield, traders and council will have to explore in earnest.

NOT IN AUSTRALIA I'M AFRAID!
On a lighter note, I had an amusing call from a resident recently. It started with congratulations at my election to Councillor, but then just hung there ... I could tell there was more to the call, and when asked what was on his mind, the caller suddenly wailed, "I got a parking ticket today! Can you do anything about it?" After clarifying the circumstances were legitimate, I had to break the news that there are strict laws against inappropriate influence by councillors that might benefit an individual or organisation more than the wider community. In other words, whilst such "favours" might be suspected in other countries, generally this doesn't happen here, and certainly not on my watch! Sigh. "If only" eh?


SAVINGS
As part of my election platform, I undertook to try and get more tangible benefits for residents out of future budgets. As a group, this term's councillors are definitely a financially responsible bunch. We've already "saved" money by having a much more modest Inauguration reception this year, and our new Mayor has been very sensible and modest in his choice of car. I've suggested that we start tracking such "relative savings" and ensure that the money that would previously have been budgeted for these items, be visibly re-allocated to tangible benefits for the community e.g. if we spent $5000 less this year than budgeted for civic receptions, there should be $5000 directly attributable to something else of tangible benefit to the community, e.g. increased budget for community grants. By tracking and linking savings in this way, we will all become more aware of unnecessary excesses and most importantly, demonstrate improved outcomes to the community in a tangible way.
I've already discussed this with our Mayor, who is very receptive to the suggestion, so watch this space.