City of Melville council vote unanimously in favour of paid parking at Riseley Centre

Melville councillors voted unanimously to adopt paid parking – the first hour free and $2 per hour thereafter – for all City-owned bays in the immediate vicinity of the Riseley Centre, including all of Kearns Crescent, which fronts numerous businesses.

The same measures will also apply at City-owned carparks at 41 Simpson and 1 Willcock streets, the 90-degree parking bays on Fletcher Street north of Canning Highway and all bays on Riseley Street between Canning Highway and Willcock Street.

The move comes in response to a parking management report prepared by Cardno that found bays in high-demand areas such as Kearns Crescent were consistently near capacity, while bays a short walk away sat empty.

The report found overall parking supply was not a problem but visitors’ preferences for parking in prime bays created a shortage close to major activity hubs.

That issue was exacerbated by staff parking near the entrance of the business they worked at, preventing potential customers from using the bays.

The report also found that 17 per cent of visitors to the Riseley Centre drove from 1km away or less – compared to 10 per cent for the Perth metropolitan average – and the public perception was it was difficult, dangerous or unpleasant to walk or cycle to the centre.

It will cost the City about $128,000 to install the 16 ticket machines required to cover the area. The report suggests using revenue raised through paid parking to fund upgrades to the Riseley Centre streetscape, including the provision of foot and/or cycle paths.

The Canning Bridge area, which was also examined in the report, already contributes about $130,000 in paid parking revenue to the City budget each year.

Parking on Ogilvie Road will be upped to $3 per hour but time restrictions wherever paid parking is currently in place will be removed to increase flexibility for parkers.

Free parking for the first hour will also be introduced at all City-owned parking in Moreau Mews, Forbes Road and Kishorn Road.