Motorists to pay for pedestrian crossings, bike paths with congestion charge

2 weeks ago 6

Motorists who drive to inner Melbourne will help pay for new pedestrian crossings and bike lanes through an increased parking tax negotiated between the Allan government and the Greens.

The controversial expansion of the congestion levy on off-street car parking passed the upper house on Tuesday night with the support of crossbenchers, despite pushback from local councillors and business groups.

The car park levy will increase 73 per cent.

The 73 per cent increase to the levy – intended to reduce congestion by discouraging motorists from driving to the inner city – is expected to raise an extra $100 million a year.

The government was able to pass the bill after Treasurer Jaclyn Symes agreed to a request from the Greens to hive off $15 million a year to put into projects that encourage walking and cycling.

The funds will be distributed to the five inner-city councils where the levy applies: Melbourne, Merri-bek, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra.

Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said the funds would make walking, riding and public transport safer and more accessible.

“We need better infrastructure to make active transport a safe and accessible choice,” she said.

“Thriving cities across the world like Singapore and London are prioritising reducing car use and making riding and walking safer and more accessible. Here in Melbourne, we should be proud to be doing the same.”

Former treasurer Tim Pallas announced a proposed increase and expansion of the car park levy in December last year, and forecast doing so would almost double the revenue it raises to $229 million in 2026/27.

The levy will increase from $1690 to $3030 a year in the existing category 1 areas, which include the CBD, Southbank, King’s Domain, Docklands and East Melbourne.

The category 2 zone levy will increase from $1240 to $2150 and the area to which it applies will be expanded to include Richmond, Prahran and South Yarra, which are not currently subject to the levy.

Car park operators have warned rents would soar by up to 90 per cent under the tax hike, and traders at Queen Victoria Market are concerned it would kill their businesses.

City of Melbourne mayor Nick Reece and his deputy Roshena Campbell last week criticised the levy increase, saying it would discourage visitors to the CBD.

“The time is not right to cripple Melbourne traders. We are doing everything we can to get them back into the city,” Campbell said.

Crossbenchers Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, from One Nation, and Jeff Bourman, from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, and the Animal Justice Party’s Georgie Purcell also supported the bill.

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