Tourists visiting some popular beach destinations on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula will now have to pay for parking beside the beach.
Motorists will be forced to pay $6.20 an hour, or $19.50 per day, at three beach car parks – at Flinders Pier in Flinders, Schnapper Point in Mornington and Sunnyside Beach in Mount Eliza – as part of a new trial.
The council said the payment system was a way for visitors to share the foreshore more fairly with locals during peak periods and would become a crucial revenue source.
The paid visitor trial started on December 1 and will run for nine months.
Locals are exempt from paying the fees if they apply for an electronic permit.
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council mayor Simon Brooks said the trial was brought in to address challenges around growing visitor numbers, growing revenue and to address rate capping.
“We have 7.5 million visitors come here every year, so it was in response to handling and managing that, and creating equity for the visitor numbers,” he said.
“But also looking at another revenue stream, given the impacts of rate capping and the recent spark in inflation.”
Brooks said at peak times it would also ease the strain on locals, who often had trouble accessing the supermarket and other busy areas.
Read Related Also: Hunter Biden: Republicans are "Trying to Kill Me"
“During busy times, some locals can’t access their shopping centre, so that’s one of the more extreme examples,” he said.
The council spends $8 million in yearly foreshore maintenance costs for car parks, pathways, public toilets, playgrounds, barbecues and beach cleaning.
The council said charging for parking would stop the cost from falling back onto ratepayers.
Out on the foreshore today, many visitors were not happy to have to pay for parking, with some struggling to download the app or pay online.
Others parked further away from the beach to avoid paying.
“It’s just annoying,” one person told 9News.
“It’s just typical isn’t it, you pay for everything and you get nothing in return.”
The council is set to consider expanding the pilot program to other locations if it is successful.
