A City of Perth committee will consider prioritising cyclists, pedestrians, public transport and loading zones over private vehicle parking as it tries to balance competing demands for limited kerbside space.
The city’s kerbside parking proposal is scheduled to be presented to its policy legislation and governance committee on October 19 before it will be considered by the council.
The proposed policy sets out a hierarchy of uses for on-street space across the City of Perth, with sustainable transport modes — such as cycling and walking — given the highest priority.
It wants to re-allocate space used for on-street parking to uses such as bike lanes, outdoor dining, street trees and business servicing.
“Changes to the kerbside environment, including modifications to on-street parking, must be carefully considered to ensure that the best and most appropriate use of kerbside space is achieved,” the policy states.
The policy also places different priorities on parking depending on neighbourhood, which is to reflect the needs of residents, businesses, commuters and visitors.
The policy divides the city into six kerbside management zones: central, foreshore, northern, eastern, western and southern.
Rather than applying a uniform approach across the city, changes would be accessed against how streets were used and the needs of surrounding areas.
Factors to consider would be public transport and cycling infrastructure requirements, land use, traffic and pedestrian movements, the availability of off-street parking, safety and access for service and emergency vehicles.
Under the proposed hierarchy, pedestrian access, designated cycling routes and public bus services would rank ahead of universal access parking, loading zones and short-stay parking in the central and foreshore zones.
In the northern, eastern and western zones, resident and commercial parking would rank ahead of short-stay parking and vehicles parked for recreational purposes.
In the southern part, which covers Nedlands and Crawley, resident parking would rank ahead of recreational parking, short-stay and long-term parking and student parking.
The city could also consider parking demand through utilisation rates and revenue, alongside the allocation of other kerbside space in the area.
The policy says conditions for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on public streets would be considered after higher-priority uses had been accommodated.
The city would also need to establish that no reasonably accessible off-street charging infrastructure was available nearby and that a community/operational need existed.
The City of Perth scrapped its free night parking in the CBD as well as increased parking fees last February.
The city hopes to increase its residential population to more than 55,000 residents by 2036 and more than 90,000 by 2050.
According to the city’s Walking in the City Plan 2025 - 2035, “in addition to its residents, the city attracts over 200,000 people on a typical workday, including a workforce of more than 170,000”.
“Tens of thousands of people use the city’s bus and train stations daily. For example, the Elizabeth Quay train station alone records up to 14,000 boardings on a typical workday,” it states.