With more than 7.5 million visitors a year to the Mornington Peninsula, there is increasing pressure on our foreshore areas.
Currently, ratepayers are paying around $8 million per year for the maintenance of foreshore-related Council infrastructure on the Mornington Peninsula, such as car parks, public toilets and access paths.
To better manage this high demand for limited foreshore parking and to help maintain the necessary infrastructure, Council is considering a Visitor Paid Parking Pilot.
On 30 May Council will vote on whether to go ahead with the pilot scheme that will see visitors to the Mornington Peninsula pay for parking at three popular foreshore locations.
Council has no intention to introduce paid parking for Mornington Peninsula Shire residents.
The three locations under consideration for a Pilot are:
· Schnapper Point foreshore carpark, Mornington
· Sunnyside North beach foreshore carpark, Mount Eliza
· Flinders pier foreshore carpark, Flinders
This is an opportunity for residents and visitors to continue to share our foreshores while more fairly distributing the costs of maintaining these areas.
If endorsed, the Pilot will enable us to test parking rules, trial new technology and assess the impacts to each area. It will allow the collection of real-life data and community feedback to evaluate outcomes.
Revenue generated by any Pilot would be reinvested back into the community and used to fund foreshore related infrastructure and services, such as better foreshore access, trails and footpaths, parking and amenities such as public toilets and rubbish collection.
