By Mikayla van Loon
After reviewing the parking restrictions for Lilydale at the request of the community and as part of a new precinct plan, Yarra Ranges Council has confirmed a suite of changes.
Accepting of the new restrictions but not entirely convinced it will be enough, Lilydale Township Action Group (LTAG) secretary Sharyn Manning said “it’s not perfect but it’s better than what it was”.
The council engaged with the community through a consultation process and had further discussions with the township group earlier this year.
“Council attended an LTAG meeting in March to present the pages and gather additional feedback, and received positive feedback from the group,” a spokesperson said.
The updated Lilydale Parking Precinct Plan will now accommodate an increase of 67 unrestricted (untimed) spaces and 87 spaces with an increased, four hour restriction.
Ms Manning said those unrestricted parking spots would be great for the township but they were in places where parks were often full anyway.
“The problem is, it’s not additional parking and they’re always filled anyway. So everybody, the traders, will be fighting to get those parks,” she said.
“Many traders don’t have their own private parking. There’d be hundreds, and so many of them have got nowhere to park. They’ve got to try and find an unrestricted parking space or keep running out to change where they’re parking.”
LTAG did request trader permits be introduced to allow all day parking close to their business or workplace but Ms Manning said this was refused.
Requesting four hour parking in certain areas, like outside Linea of the Yarra Valley hairdressers, Ms Manning said these were mostly denied but the change was accepted near the CFA.
The council confirmed it would replace the one and two hour restrictions along the Maroondah Highway service road in the vicinity of the CFA with a four hour restriction.
Ms Manning said anecdotes from CFA members told of how they had received fines for parking outside the station while attending a job. She hoped the increase would alleviate this.
The council spokesperson also confirmed the removal of two 15 minute parking spaces outside Linea of the Yarra Valley hairdressers at 257 Maroondah Highway.
Ms Manning indicated that these would be changed to two hour parking bays.
Installation of two 15 minute spaces near 176 Maroondah Highway, near Bean Seen Cafe, will replace these, however.
LTAG’s requests to the council also included more accessible parking spaces across the main centre, particularly near medical or pharmacy services.
The council will provide an additional four accessible parking spaces across the precinct to address this.
An accessible parking space outside Main Street Medical and Amcal Pharmacy was part of the ask, and Ms Manning said while it hasn’t been included in these changes because it would require capital works, the council did not reject the proposal but rather said it would “need a timeframe of approximately 12 months”.
Other adjustments include the introduction of four hour restrictions on Clarke Street in the vicinity of the Croquet Club; clarification of council managed spaces at Lions Park and at the rear of the Crown Hotel; and removal of one loading bay and changes to the operational times of the other bays at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Castella Street.
“We’ve placed orders for signage, which will be installed about May,” the spokesperson said.
The council spokesperson said while the plan allows for visitor turnover with the smaller timeframes, they understand the need for longer parking and this would continue to be assessed.
“The Lilydale Parking Precinct Plan provides plenty of one and two hour parking spots near shops where turnover is essential,” they said.
“But the plan recognises the need for more medium and long-stay parking needs, so a significant focus of the plan is increasing parking times in key areas.
“Crucially, the plan gives Council the ability to make small localised changes based on the needs of businesses and motorists.”
Yarra Ranges Council has promised to “raise awareness” of the new restrictions coming into effect at the time of sign installation.
“Parking will continue to be enforced locally, to ensure community members and visitors are using parking spots appropriately.
“We encourage community members to keep an eye out for the new signage, and always check to make sure their parking spot has the timing they need for their visit.”
