Agenda of Extraordinary Local Traffic Committee Meeting

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Local Traffic Committee Meeting 6.1

Regulatory Matters

Report No. 6.1 Mullumbimby Parking Strategy - Endorsement of Council Resolved Time Limits in Mullumbimby

File No: I2017/1900

Council resolved on 24 August 2017 under Resolution 17-373 to undertake investigation and community consultation regarding the possible implementation of a revised parking management strategy in the Mullumbimby Town Centre.

The initial investigation prepared by Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) considered the current demand and potential alternative arrangements including alternative time restrictions and the potential implications of introducing a pay parking system.

Council staff undertook community consultation regarding the proposed changes. Based on the survey and consultation feedback, it is proposed that the majority of the Mullumbimby community would be supportive of the parking time limits changing in line with the TPS report.

Council subsequently resolved 17-572 as follows;

1. That Council endorse the implementation of the changes to parking time limits in the Mullumbimby town centre, in line with Figure 1 in this report, being 1P throughout Burringbar Street and the addition of 4P zones at the ends of Stuart and Dalley Streets, with 2P remaining in place for the remainder of Stuart and Dalley Streets.

2. That the time limit changes be reported to the Local Traffic Committee (LTC).

3. That Council approve a budget of $15,000 to implement the revised parking time limits, from the Infrastructure Renewal Reserve.

4. That Council receive a report after twelve (12) months, to review:-

a) The effectiveness of the time limit changes in managing parking turnover;

b) Infringement levels throughout the town centre; and

c) Based on the outcomes of a) and b) above, the introduction a pay parking scheme to manage parking turnover and effectiveness in accordance with the recommendations of the Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) report titled “Mullumbimby Town Centre Parking Management Strategy” (#E2016/80919).

Figure 1 below depicts the parking time limit arrangement to be implemented in Mullumbimby in February 2018, after Council adopts LTC recommendation.

Figure 1 – Mullumbimby Parking Management Plan

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Local Traffic Committee endorse the changes to the parking time limits in the Mullumbimby Town Centre, as depicted in the proposed parking times in Figure 1, being:-

a) 1P throughout Burringbar Street and the addition of 4P zones at the ends of Stuart and Dalley Streets: and

b) 2P remaining in place for the remainder of Stuart and Dalley Streets.

Attachments:

1 Mullumbimby Town Centre Parking Management Strategy from TPS Traffic and Parking Systems, E2016/80919 , page 6⇩

2 Report 24/08/2017 Council Mullumbimby Parking Management Strategy, I2017/416 , page 29⇩

Report

Council engaged Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) to prepare a parking management strategy for the Mullumbimby town centre to consider current demand and alternative arrangements, including alternative time restrictions and the potential implications of introducing a pay parking system. The study area of the report is detailed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Mullumbimby parking management strategy study area

Council has been successful in managing demand for public car parking in the past, having introduced a pay parking system in the Byron Bay town centre and Marine Parade in Wategos Beach. Using a mix of time restrictions, with an allowance for residential permits has been demonstrated in both of these projects to increase the turnover of visitors to the area, aiding in the number of vacant car parks available for use.

The strategy detailed in the TPS report recommends immediately modifying the time restrictions throughout the town centre, followed by close monitoring of parking demand and infringements, to quantify the appropriateness of the time restrictions and the number of infringements throughout the town centre. If the number of infringements persists, it is recommended to consider introducing a pay parking system to the one-hour parking duration zones in Burringbar Street to increase turnover and efficiency. It also recommends monitoring infringements in Dalley Street, Stuart Street and Station Street and that if infringement rates cannot be reduced to below 5%, metering could also be introduced to these areas.

Current and Proposed Parking Supply

The current parking arrangement in the Mullumbimby town centre is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Existing Mullumbimby parking supply and management

The proposed distribution is vastly different to the current supply, as outlined in Table 1 below. Data indicated that there is a need to consider converting approximately 434 unrestricted spaces and 8 2P spaces to medium term parking (4P) and short term parking (2P).

Table 1: Appropriate and current supply of car parks in Mullubimby town centre

The proposed parking supply arrangement is outlined in the TPS report and has been calculated based on previous experience in provincial centres. It is indicated that 30% of parking should be allocated to employee and other long term parking demands, 20% to medium term parking (generally between 3 - 6 hours), with the remaining 50% to be split between 1 and 2 hour duration limits. The layout of this distribution is shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Proposed Mullumbimby parking management plan

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

The following details the requirements for Council to implement a pay parking scheme. RMS guidelines contain details where Council must either comply or consider them, and specifies where RMS concurrence or approval is needed. Both guidelines are available online:

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/documents/technical-manuals/payparkingv4.pdf

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/documents/technical-manuals/permit-parking.pdf

The guidelines are assumed to be current, despite having reference to the now repealed Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 1999, which has been replaced by the Road Transport (General) Regulation 2013 which within Part 5 details parking schemes:

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/subordleg+367+2013+cd+0+N

The RMS guidelines empower a parking authority (ie Council) to establish and operate a parking scheme, be it a meter, ticket, phone or coupon system employed, noting the model discussed within this report is akin to a Meter Parking Area system based on ‘pay by plate’. This is possible as follows.

At s61 within “Subdivision 1 Metered Parking Schemes” the following is stated:

A parking authority may set aside the whole or any part of a road in its area of operations as a metered parking area.

Note. Rules 207–1 and 207–2 of the Road Rules 2014 make provision for parking in metered parking areas. Clause 3 (1) defines a metered parking area and metered parking space to have the same meanings as in rule 207–1.

As for ‘pay by plate’ this appears confirmed at s62 Parking Meters which states:

(1) The parking meter for a metered parking space must indicate:

….

(d) in the case of a metered parking space for a registration metered parking area—that the registration number of the vehicle must be entered for use of the parking space.

Similarly, the guidelines and regulation allow Council to fix fees for parking in metered parking spaces by resolution of the Council and to charge different fees for different areas, days or times of day should they wish. Nevertheless Council need to adhere to the RMS guidelines where they are mandatory; and where they are not they are considered good practice and recommended.

To date Council has worked with the RMS through the LTC as per the guidelines to establish the pay parking scheme in the Byron Bay town centre and Marine Parade. This will need to continue if Council wish to proceed with the parking scheme described, including exemptions, noting that the Pay Parking guideline states Council as a parking authority:

…is not entitled to provide or to charge for parking in pay parking spaces if it fails to comply with the RMS guidelines.

RMS guidelines have to date been met and no objection received from the RMS. However no approval or concurrence will be forthcoming from RMS until Council concludes and refers a completed parking study to them. The recommendation made in this report seeks to provide staff such opportunity and avoid a continuous feedback loop between Council and RMS.

As for a Resident Parking Permit scheme, it is intended this be employed with the same arrangements as the previously employed schemes for Byron Bay in residential streets for those that reside in that street (and their guests) to be exempt through provision of a resident’s scheme permit (preferably based on registration plate as well).

As for enforcing a Metered Parking Area (ie pay parking scheme) Rule 207 Road rules 2014 applies and reads as follows:

(6) Driver must pay relevant parking fee for ordinary metered parking area

A driver must not park in a metered parking space for an ordinary metered parking area without paying the relevant parking fee for the space for at least the minimum period of time for which parking in the space must be paid for.

(8) Driver must enter registration number and pay relevant parking fee for registration metered parking area
A driver must not park in a metered parking space for a registration metered parking area without:

(a) entering the registration number of the vehicle into the parking meter for the space, and

(b) paying the relevant parking fee for the space for at least the minimum period of time for which parking in the space must be paid for.

As Part (6) states, the driver must pay and Part (8) requires the registration plate to be entered and pay the relevant fee. In Council’s scenario of providing an exemption to “paying the relevant parking fee” a pre-registered registration plate entered at the meter would be akin to paying the fee. However, if the registration was not entered, no payment would be made and the offence of “Park without paying meter fee” would be committed.

As for enforcing a Resident Parking Permit area the offence is typically aligned with parking beyond the signed time limit, which of course does not apply to those exempt.

Financial Implications

An amount of $197,000 is estimated as the capital cost to implement the parking scheme if Council were to buy the meters. However, Council has entered into a contract for the lease of the parking meters and this contract allows for the number of pay parking meters to be increased if Council decides to introduce pay parking into other areas, such as Mullumbimby. An amount of $10,000 will be required for investigation and community consultation with the Mullumbimby community regarding the implementation of a revised parking layout and pay parking scheme in the town centre.

The operating costs of the system, including enforcement costs, is expected to be $177,000 per year. The estimated revenue of the meter system and enforcement is expected to be approximately $308,000 per year. Therefore the estimated profit of implementing the scheme will be approximately $131,000. This estimate does not include the revenue gained from the purchase of resident scheme annual permits, or a proposed increase in paid parking rates from $3 / hour to $4 / hour as per resolution 17-023 (2 February 2017). If factoring in the revenue change to $4 / hour, it is estimated the revenue may be in the order of $410,000, equalling approximately $233,000 revenue for Council after operating costs.

Based on the estimated costs and revenue (based on $3 / hour, which was applicable when the TPS report was completed), it is expected the upfront capital costs will be recouped in the first two full years the scheme operates.

Table 2: Estimate revenue and costs of metered parking in Mullumbimby town centre

Preliminary Consultation

Preliminary community consultation was undertaken as part of the Mullumbimby Masterplan consultation process. As Council had not yet resolved to investigate parking time limit changes and/or paid parking, the consultation was in the form of informal discussions with the public as part of the general movement and parking review component of the Masterplan.

The informal discussions revealed, in general, that the majority of the community would not support paid parking being implemented, unless the funds were directed to Mullumbimby Masterplan projects. The report from TPS has indicated that these funds may not be significant however may still be worth investigating. Further community consultation with the aim of discussing parking time limits and paid parking directly will be required prior to any action being taken.

Recommended Actions

The following actions will be required to commence the process of implementing the Mullumbimby parking scheme:

1. Council endorse the Mullumbimby Town Centre Parking Management Strategy (#E2016/80919) prepared by Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) for community consultation.

2. Council to allocate budget for investigation and consultation with the Mullumbimby community regarding the proposed changes to the parking layout and the introduction of a pay parking scheme to the town centre

– Budget of $10000 – 2 months

3. Council to consider consultation report at meeting on 23 November 2017.

4. If the resolution was to proceed with the revised parking layout and a pay parking scheme, then;

a. Notify Local Traffic Committee at meeting on 16 January 2018 that Council has resolved to implement revised parking layout and potentially the pay parking scheme.

b. Seek concurrence from RMS to implement revised parking layout and potentially the pay parking scheme

c. Provide a budget for the implementation of the revised parking layout and pay parking scheme

i. Capital Budget for the meters included into the contract for the lease of the pay parking meters

ii. Revised and new signage and linemarking.

iii. Supply time of new meters from overseas is approximately 4 months.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Local Traffic Committee Meeting 6.2

Report No. 6.2 Brunswick Heads Parking Strategy - Endorsements of Council Resolved Time Limits in Brunswick Heads

File No: I2017/1901

Council resolved on 24 August 2017 under Resolution 17-329 to undertake investigation and community consultation regarding the possible implementation of a revised parking management strategy in the Brunswick Heads Town Centre.

Council staff undertook community consultation regarding the proposed changes. Based on the survey and consultation feedback, it is proposed that the majority of the Brunswick Heads community would be supportive of the parking time limits changing in line with the Brunswick Heads Chamber of Commerce proposed layout, with some adjustments proposed by Staff.

Council subsequently resolved 17-587 as follows;

1. That Council endorse the implementation steps recommended in the Brunswick Heads Parking Management Strategy as modified to:

a) Implement revised time limits in the town centre immediately (as per point 2 below);

b) Closely monitor parking demands, durations and infringements in the Town Centre Area in particular with the objective to continuously quantify the appropriateness of duration limits and to ‘track’ trends in the level of infringement; and

c) Assess the compliance with the revised time limits and associated infringements in the management of parking turnover, following the implementation of the revised time limits, in conjunction with any future consideration by Council of the implementation of a pay parking scheme in Brunswick Heads.

2. That Council endorse the implementation of the changes to the parking time limits in Brunswick Heads, using the layout provided by the Brunswick Heads Chamber of Commerce shown at Figure 2, incorporating the amendments identified in Table 2.

3. That Council seek Local Traffic Committee (LTC) endorsement of the parking time limit changes.

4. That Council negotiate any necessary agreement with Crown Lands to implement parking schemes.

5. That prior to the consideration of any Pay Parking Scheme for Brunswick Heads, staff undertake further investigations and consultation and report to Council in mid 2018 on revised parking arrangements and the cost of infrastructure upgrade requirements in the following areas;

a) Booyun Street, east of Park Street, in order to implement a Kiss and Ride School drop off zone in this area;

b) Park Street, between Fingal Street and Slessor Lane, to formalise parking whilst maintaining the existing bus zone;

c) Parking arrangements on South Beach Road, including dedicated parking for up to four (4) Horse floats at the end of South Beach Road; and

d) Parking arrangements in South Beach Lane

That Council approve:

a) an allocation of $115,000 to be funded from Section 94 Car Parking Brunswick Heads to undertake the investigation works in items 5a) to 5d), inclusive; and

b) the allocation of $25,000 for the implementation or revised time limits (including line marking) be funded from the existing signage program.

Council then raised an urgency motion at the 28 November Extraordinary Council Meeting to modify the amendments identified in Point 2 of resolution 17-587. The urgency motion passed under resolution 17-636 as follows;

That in relation to the implementation of the Brunswick Heads Parking Management Strategy, that Council endorse the following time limits subject to Local Traffic Committee approval:

1. General time limits to apply Mon to Sun 9.00am - 5.00pm

2. Time Limits at South Beach Road and South Beach Lane be retained as all-day parking.

Figure 1 below depicts the parking time limit arrangement to be implemented in Brunswick Heads in February 2018, after Council adopts LTC recommendation.

Figure 1 – Brunswick Heads Parking Management Plan

Table 1 – Amendments to Chamber of Commerce Layout – Time Limit Changes

Council Resolved Amendments
1.	Time limits to apply 9am – 5pm, 7 days a week.
2.	2P full length of southern side of Fingal Street. 4P on Booyun Street, east of Park Street.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Local Traffic Committee endorse Council Resolutions 17-587 and 17-636, providing concurrence for:

a) Item 2, which is to implement the changes to the parking time limits in the Brunswick Heads Town Centre, as depicted in the proposed parking times in Figure 1 of this report, with the minor amendments identified in Table 1.

Attachments:

1 Brunswick Heads Town Centre and Beachside Parking Management Strategy by TPS Traffic and Parking Systems Pty Ltd, E2016/80884 , page 39 ⇩

2 Report 24/08/2017 Council Brunswick Heads Parking Management Strategy, I2017/1030 , page 57 ⇩

Report

Council engaged Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) to prepare a parking management strategy for the Brunswick Heads town centre to consider current demand and alternative arrangements, including alternative time restrictions and the potential implications of introducing a pay parking system. The study area of the report is detailed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Brunswick Heads parking management strategy study area

Current and Proposed Parking Supply

The current parking arrangement in the Brunswick Heads town centre is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Existing Brunswick Heads parking supply and management

The proposed distribution is vastly different to the current supply, as outlined in Table 1 below. Data indicated that there is a need to consider converting approximately 80 or more unrestricted spaces to medium term parking (4P), and also approximately 160 spaces to 1P.

Table 1: Appropriate and current supply of car parks in Brunswick Heads town centre

Figure 3: Proposed Brunswick Heads parking management plan

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/documents/technical-manuals/payparkingv4.pdf

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/documents/technical-manuals/permit-parking.pdf

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/subordleg+367+2013+cd+0+N

At s61 within “Subdivision 1 Metered Parking Schemes” the following is stated:

A parking authority may set aside the whole or any part of a road in its area of operations as a metered parking area.

As for ‘pay by plate’ this appears confirmed at s62 Parking Meters which states:

(1) The parking meter for a metered parking space must indicate:

….

(d) in the case of a metered parking space for a registration metered parking area—that the registration number of the vehicle must be entered for use of the parking space.

…is not entitled to provide or to charge for parking in pay parking spaces if it fails to comply with the RMS guidelines.

As for enforcing a Metered Parking Area (ie pay parking scheme) Rule 207 Road rules 2014 applies and reads as follows:

(6) Driver must pay relevant parking fee for ordinary metered parking area

(a) entering the registration number of the vehicle into the parking meter for the space, and

(b) paying the relevant parking fee for the space for at least the minimum period of time for which parking in the space must be paid for.

As for enforcing a Resident Parking Permit area the offence is typically aligned with parking beyond the signed time limit, which of course does not apply to those exempt.

Financial Implications

An amount of $281,000 is estimated as the capital cost to implement the parking scheme if Council were to buy the meters. However, Council has entered into a contract for the lease of the parking meters and this contract allows for the number of pay parking meters to be increased if Council decides to introduce pay parking into other areas, such as Brunswick Heads. An amount of $15,000 will be required for investigation and community consultation with the Brunswick Heads community regarding the implementation of a revised parking layout and pay parking scheme in the town centre.

The operating costs of the system, including enforcement costs, is expected to be $142,000 per year. The estimated revenue of the meter system and enforcement is expected to be approximately $621,000 per year. Therefore the estimated profit of implementing the scheme will be approximately $479,000. This estimate does not include the revenue gained from the purchase of resident scheme annual permits, or a proposed increase in paid parking rates from $3 / hour to $4 / hour as per resolution 17-023 (2 February 2017). If factoring in the revenue change to $4 / hour, it is estimated the revenue may be in the order of $639,000, equalling approximately $497,000 revenue for Council after operating costs.

Table 2: Estimate revenue and costs of metered parking in Brunswick Heads town centre

Recommended Actions

The following actions will be required to commence the process of implementing the Brunswick Heads parking scheme:

1. Council endorse the Brunswick Heads Town Centre Parking Management Strategy (#E2016/80884) prepared by Traffic and Parking Systems Group (TPS) for community consultation.

2. Council to allocate budget for investigation and consultation with the Brunswick Heads community regarding the proposed changes to the parking layout and the introduction of a pay parking scheme to the town centre

– Budget of $15,000 – 2 months

3. Council to consider consultation report at meeting on 23 November 2017.

4. If the resolution was to proceed with the revised parking layout and a pay parking scheme, then;

a. Notify Local Traffic Committee at meeting on 16 January 2018 that Council has resolved to implement revised parking layout and potentially the pay parking scheme.

b. Seek concurrence from RMS to implement revised parking layout and potentially the pay parking scheme

c. Provide a budget for the implementation of the revised parking layout and pay parking scheme

i. Capital Budget for the meters included into the contract for the lease of the pay parking meters

ii. Revised and new signage and linemarking.

iii. Supply time of new meters from overseas is approximately 4 months.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Local Traffic Committee Meeting 6.3

Report No. 6.3 Closing Bay Lane for a trial period during January 2018

File No: I2017/1961

Background

In 2014, Council closed Bay Lane for a one-day event to trial a ‘shared zone’ space and demonstrate how pedestrianisation of the laneway could work. The surrounding businesses were heavily involved in the design of the road closure to ensure access was not impeded and critical delivery / rubbish collection times were not impacted. Anecdotal post-event feedback from businesses was positive and interest was expressed in a more permanent closure of the laneway.

Report

Council is looking to close Bay Lane each night throughout January to trial a more permanent pedestrianisation of the space. The final details of the proposed closure would be dependent on consultation with and support of impacted businesses and community members. Variables (to be determined from consultation) are:-

- Closure times: 5:30pm – 10:30pm or 5:30pm – 6am

- Closure section: Bay Lane from Jonson St to Fletcher St or Jonson St eastward to mid block (enabling access to the car park for the Beach Hotel accommodation and other businesses)

If the proposal is endorsed by LTC and Council, consultation will be undertaken with impacted businesses and emergency services and the closure will be advertised to local community to ensure any negative impacts are minimised. Following completion of the consultation and determination of the extent of closure, Traffic Management and Control plans will be prepared and implemented by suitably accredited Traffic Controllers.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That the Local Traffic Committee has no objection to the closure of Bay Lane each night throughout January 2018 to trial a more permanent pedestrianisation of the space, noting that the final details of the proposed closure would be dependent on consultation with and support from impacted businesses and community members and that the variables (to be determined from consultation) are:

a) Closure times: 5:30pm – 10:30pm or 5:30pm – 6am; and

b) Closure section: Bay Lane from Jonson St to Fletcher St or Jonson St eastward to mid block (enabling access to the car park for the Beach Hotel accommodation and other businesses)

2. That if the proposal is endorsed by LTC and Council, consultation will be undertaken with impacted businesses and emergency services and the closure will be advertised to local community to ensure any negative impacts are minimised.

3. That Traffic Management and Traffic Control Plans be prepared, implemented and maintained by suitably accredited Traffic controllers prior to and during the trial closure period.

Venue	Conference Room, Station Street, Mullumbimby
Date	Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Time	12.30pm
Committee Members	Alan Eichmann – Roads and Maritime Services Snr Constable David Brigg – Police Cr Basil Cameron Tamara Smith MP