Revised parking local law adopted by council

A revised City of Fremantle Parking Local Law has been adopted by Fremantle Council.

The revised law includes small increases in the penalties for some infringements, improves management of verge parking in residential areas, and makes provisions for ‘pay-by-phone only’ parking zones.

Fremantle Deputy Mayor Andrew Sullivan said the revised law is an update to the City’s existing parking local law, which dated back to 2006.

“The City’s Parking Local Law is required for the effective management of parking throughout the city and helps to ensure there is an acceptable rate of turnover in parking bays so that people can access the city’s businesses and services,” Cr Sullivan said.

“It also assists with the management of parking in our residential streets.

“For people to take the parking provisions seriously the penalties for infringements need to be of sufficient value to act as a deterrent, and our penalties haven’t increased in eight years.

“The small increases in the revised local law mean our penalties will be on par with most other local governments in Perth.”

Cr Sullivan said the changes to verge parking will enable improved management of parking on congested residential streets.

“At times verges can become cluttered with boats, caravans and trailers which block sight lines for motorists,” he said.

“Initially it was proposed to prohibit all boats, caravans and trailers from parking on verges, but based on the feedback we received during the consultation period that has been modified to apply only to long or heavy vehicles and only where it’s not possible to leave a 1.5m gap between the vehicle and the kerb.

“This will allow larger vehicles to be parked on a verge provided there is enough room to get a reasonable line of sight along the kerb and not cause any obstructions to driveways and footpaths.”

The revised local law will also allow the City to create ‘pay-by-phone only’ zones in areas where the installation of ticket machines is found to be cost prohibitive or not possible due to technical issues or other constraints.

Cr Sullivan said the ‘pay-by-phone only’ zones could be accessed using the City’s PayStay parking app.

“It's important to note that you don’t need a smartphone to use PayStay. You can also start a parking session by making a call or sending an SMS,” he said.

“This will be made clear in the signage wherever ‘pay-by-phone’ is introduced.”

The City of Fremantle Parking Local Law will now be reviewed by the state’s Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation and come into operation 14 days after it is published in the State Government Gazette.