2023-03-13 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                         13 MARCH 2023


Council continues to collaborate with the Department of Transport to increase the mode share of
public transport.
Risks
Council needs to balance community access to public parkland against requests for overflow car
parking and the funds generated from the paid parking on the site. The use of the Noosa Heads
Lions Park Reserve for car parking conflicts with the Department of Resources’ designation of the
park and Council policies as noted in Table 3 below. Moving forward, Council will need to consider
the use of community greenspace against the demand for car parking and undertake community
engagement to determine the preferred use.
Approximately 14,000 vehicles per day enter the congested Noosa Heads precinct during the peak
period. The additional 150-200 overflow car parks are not considered to make a measurable
difference to supply and demand.
In recent years, an arborist’s report cited a significant impact to the melaleuca trees due to vehicles
parking under the trees. The park area also incurs damage to the subsurface drainage as a result
of vehicles parking on the grass area.
At 5.30pm the gates close and any vehicles left in the reserve are locked in. A number is placed
on the entry sign to call to release the vehicle. There is a risk that drivers who do not wish to pay
the call out fee or wait for a Council on-call officer to arrive, may damage the reserve’s infrastructure
to get out.
The Council policies and strategies that identify the conflict of using Lions Park as a car park are
noted in the below table:
Table 2: Policy position of using Lions Park for car parking.
 Document                      Key Principles/Policy
 Department of Resources          The State-owned Lions Park is designated as recreation park. Council
                                   as trustee approving use as car park is contrary with the designation,
                                   noting that the Department of Resources have previously endorsed the
                                   temporary use as a car park with the recommendation to conduct
                                   community consultation to determine the community intentions.
 Planning Scheme                  The park is zoned as open space recreation. Use as a car park as the
                                   dominant use conflicts with the Planning Scheme.

 Noosa Design Principles          Open space will remain a priority even though the demand for car
                                   parking seems limitless (Principle 9, Sensitive Growth and
                                   Development).
                                  Improve access for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport before
                                   using public space for car parking (Principle 8, Our Local Character).
                                  Design a transport network that does not attempt to cater for all peak
                                   traffic and parking loads but provides for a high level of service during
                                   non-peak periods. (Principle 2, Walking, Riding and Driving).
                                  Avoid sacrificing public open space for car parking (Principle 7, Walking,
                                   Riding and Driving).
 Noosa Transport Strategy         Focus on moving people and goods rather than on moving cars.
 2017-2027
                                  Provide infrastructure and services that are designed to give priority to
                                   pedestrians, cyclists, scooters and public transport over private cars.
                                  Address peak time traffic congestion by reducing traffic rather than
                                   increasing road capacity.
                                  Design, encourage and facilitate transport options that reduce the
                                   emissions produced by our community.




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