A new study by Melbourne City found that non-street parking in downtown Melbourne faces a dilemma, with nearly 40 percent of parking spaces in some central areas unused every day, the Times reported.
How many vacant parking spaces in the city has been a mystery, but a new study by Elizabeth Taylor, a researcher at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, found that there were 13000 surplus non-roadside parking spaces in the city.
Melbourne`s central parking space occupies 460 hectares.
In fact, the main cause of the problem is non-street domestic parking spaces, 1/3 of residential parking spaces are not used. West Melbourne41% private parking spaces are empty.
While most of the people living in CBD don`t have a car, the new apartment includes parking spaces.
In 2016, there were 49500 private parking spaces in urban areas, compared with 37260 private cars owned by residents living in urban areas.
There are so many parking spaces in the city center that no one uses. PNG
Now, one in seven Victorians is going downtown every day, and Melbourne City is looking for ways to cope with population growth and the traffic problems they continue to drive to work in CBD.
The city is preparing to submit a five-year transport plan next year. They are also considering redesigning CBD`s roads and trails to give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.
One strategy is also aimed at parking problems.
"I think there should be a better system of how to allocate and manage parking spaces," said Taylor of the Center for Urban Studies.
Taylor has not proposed a strict display of non-street parking, and he called for these vacant spaces to be used to store other items, parking bicycles and public parking, which could also ease the problem of street-side space tensions.
Melbourne City`s discussion paper suggests turning street parking spaces into open spaces, bike lanes and trails.
The document also mentions restrictions on urban parking, as well as changes to time limits and street parking charges, as required.
These measures will help reduce inner-city traffic, and overseas studies show that 30 percent of urban traffic comes from "roundabout," in which drivers drive over and over again to find free or cheap parking spaces.
Senator Nicolas Frances Gilley said stricter parking restrictions do not fall within the city`s jurisdiction, but that makes sense given the excess parking space.
"A lot of people don`t use these parking spaces, it`s a waste of money, and there`s so much space that doesn`t work. Personally, I think these parking spaces can be a little less. "
The city is reducing street parking spaces to make room for taxis, shared cars and bicycles, Gilley said. Both local and overseas research found that retailers were not affected even with fewer parking spaces.
"if you use a parking space for a self-reliance car, you can put nine bicycles in a car where you parked it before."
