Attachment F - Carparking Evaluation -Noosa Carparking Study - McGagney report

                                                                                                           Noosa Council
                                                                                      Noosa Car Parking Study 2017 - 2032
                                                                                                             Final Report


Time limits are currently in place in many centres throughout the Noosa Shire, and these are observed to
correlate with relative parking utilisation. Time limits can therefore be further applied in specific locations within
study areas to improve relative utilisation throughout the study area and ensure that parking is available for
priority users. In general, the implementation of (or adjustments to) time limits will simply shift parking demand
elsewhere (either within the study area, or to neighbouring locations nearby), as opposed to reducing parking
demand overall.


C.3: Car Share Schemes
Car-share schemes are based around the management of a pool of vehicles parked at numerous locations
around a community. Members of the organisation are able to book vehicles online and then gain access to
the vehicles via electronic swipe cards. One car-share vehicle is typically utilised by a large number of people,
thereby distributing the costs of car-ownership, such as maintenance and parking, across a larger number of
people. Membership to a car-share organisation is considered most attractive to households that do not rely
on vehicles for home-to-work commuting, or small to medium sized companies that do not need to manage
their own fleet. In this way, car-share vehicles are frequently used for commercial purposes during the day and
residential needs during off-peak hours.

Numerous studies have indicated that members of car-sharing organisations reduce their driving and switch to
higher rates of walking, cycling, and PT. This is likely due to the fact that the perceived per trip cost for privately
owned vehicles is low, as the upfront costs (purchase price, registration, insurance, etc) are not considered in
per trip terms, however car share schemes effectively charge all costs in per trip terms. As such, the real cost of
vehicle trips is more apparent to car share users who are therefore more likely to avoid car trips.

By sharing vehicles, car-sharing organisations may reduce demand for residential and commercial parking by 5
–10% (Litman, 2006a). The emergence of commercial car-sharing organisations in South East Queensland is
thus considered to strengthen the case for unbundling and reducing the parking supplied for medium density
housing and commercial centres near major public transport routes. On this basis, key centre locations in Noosa
Shire are a potential location to promote and provide on and off-street spaces for car-share organisations.

The success of household led car-share schemes is highly dependent on the availability of alternative travel
modes, public transport infrastructure in particular. It is observed that public transport is not heavily uitlised
within the Noosa Shire currently. As such, the implementation of a car-share scheme may need to a government
led catalyst.


C.4: Green Travel Plans
Green travel plans are a management tool designed to assist all types of developments (particularly commercial
and residential) reduce travel demands associated with various types of everyday trips such as the journey to
work. Travel plans help to address issues affecting how people choose to travel, such as company cars and free
parking in commercial environments. In many situations some changes may catalyse large reductions in vehicle
use, including:
   End of trip facilities for cyclists, including showers and lockers;
   Parking cash-out – provides commuters who normally receive free parking to take cash instead;
   Company car cash-out – as per parking cash-out except for company cars;
   PT passes - involves providing employees or new residents with a subsidised PT pass in place of car park;
    and
   Provision of transport information and personalised travel planning services for new residents or employees.