Urban Taskforce Australia does not support a number of Objectives within the draft Parking Strategy which are restrictive on car ownership, constrain parking and have perverse outcomes for local residents and businesses.
To go to specifics, in relation to Objective 4: Reduce the need for car ownership and constrain parking, just by placing development near public transport doesn’t remove the need for cars. This presumes that everyone has the same driving needs, which is clearly not true. Shift workers, including police officers, nurses, ambulance officers, cleaners, hospitality workers, security staff, along with tradies and families all need flexibility to move around the city for personal and business reasons, often after hours and beyond the reach of public transport.
Urban Taskforce does not agree that constraining road and parking space suppresses car use and makes sustainable transport more attractive than driving. There is no empirical data to support this. If anything, it forces these people further afield, creating longer travel times, increasing stress, polluting the environment and resulting in shortages of labour supply in many areas.
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