What’s planned for parking in your area?

The community can check out draft Local Area Parking Plans for 37 locations across the Sunshine Coast as part of the draft Parking Management Plan now open for public comment and feedback.

Sunshine Coast Council CEO Michael Whittaker urged the community to review council’s parking proposals for their area and places they frequently visit.

There will also be the opportunity to attend a range of community information sessions in your local area, starting with Birtinya on Tuesday (April 4).

The draft Local Area Parking Plans are a key element of the overall draft plan and cover a range of locations from the Glass House Mountains to Kenilworth, west to Maleny, including the major destinations of Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore and Sippy Downs.

“The draft Parking Management Plan outlines how council proposes to proactively manage existing parking spaces across the Coast, while also planning for future demand through the provision of new parking in high-use locations and maintaining pressure on development to play its part,” Mr Whittaker said.

“But it is the draft Local Area Parking Plans where the all-important detail can be found.

He said the draft Local Area Parking Plans provided insights into expected population growth within each location and highlighted existing or potential issues that might arise in the future around parking accessibility.

“Of the 37 locations for which draft plans had been developed, paid parking is only being considered in limited zones within five – Birtinya, Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore and Sippy Downs.

“In all other areas, parking management strategies range from ongoing monitoring, through to the potential to introduce or increase time-limited parking in areas of high demand such as main streets.

He said council had gathered information on more than 23,000 on and off-street public car parking spaces throughout the region of which only 2% (less than 500 parking bays) were paid parking.

“Paid parking is a user pays system and will only be considered in exceptional cases where demand for car parks is consistently high and where its effects will increase turnover of those spaces, usually in the larger urban centres,” Mr Whittaker said.

“This principle is born out in the draft Local Area Parking Plans, with council choosing to use a range of other parking management tools in cases where an existing or future need for active management has been identified.

“Effective management of existing car parking spaces is essential in the quest to provide fair and equitable access to parking for all, without creating a costly oversupply.

“To build just one at-grade car park can cost as much as $6000, while the provision of one bay within a multi-storey car park can cost between $20,000 and $30,000.

“When you take these costs into account, it makes sense to get the best use of the car parks we have today before committing to just building more.”

The draft Local Area Parking Plans can be viewed on the project website – _Have Your Say Sunshine Coast,_ where there is an interactive map to guide users to their areas of interest.

Community feedback closes on Friday May 5, 2017.

Community information sessions next week (Tuesday, April 4 – Friday, April 7)

• 04 April 2017 - Birtinya Information Session, Tuesday 3:00pm to 6:30pm, Meeting room 1 - Lake Kawana Community Centre, 114 Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina.
• 05 April 2017 - Buddina Information Session, Wednesday 9:30am to11:30am, Kawana Library Foyer, 30 Nanyima Street Buddina.
• 05 April 2017- Currimundi / Currimundi Beach and Creek Information Session, Wednesday 1:00pm to 2.30pm, Currimundi Marketplace.
• 05 April 2017- Mooloolaba Information Session, Wednesday 3:00pm to 6:30pm, Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club, The Esplanade, Mooloolaba.
• 06 April 2017- Mooloolah Information Session, Thursday 9:00am to 10:30am, Shelter in front of Martin Runget Park.
• 06 April 2017- Landsborough Information Session, Thursday 11:30am to 1:30pm, School of Arts Hall - Old Landsborough Rd Landsborough Road.
• 06 April 2017- Glass House Mountain Information Session, Thursday 1:30pm to 3:00pm, the Glass House Mountain Visitor Information Centre.
• 06 April 2017- Beerwah Information Session, Thursday 3:00pm to 6:30pm, Beerwah Hall, 25 Peachester Road Beerwah.
• 07 April 2017- Moffat Beach Information Session, Friday 9:30am to11:30am, foreshore location adjacent to Coastal Pathway.
• 07 April 2017- Dicky Beach Information Session, Friday 12:00pm to 1:30pm, marquee on the footpath in front of Dicky Beach car park.
• 07 April 2017- Sippy Downs Information Session, Friday 3:00pm to 6:30pm, USC Sports Stadium, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs.