Maroondah City Councillors on Monday night adopted the 13 policies outlined in the Ringwood Central Activities District (CAD) Stage 2 Parking Strategy Report.

Councillor Alex Makin said the strategy would be an important tool in addressing many of the potential parking challenges in the Ringwood CAD by providing a range of principles and policies that will guide the direction of both the provision and management of parking in that area.

“The accommodation and management of future parking demand within the Ringwood CAD will present many challenges and will play a fundamental role in both transport and land use planning,” Cr Makin said.

“Council understands that parking cannot be viewed as a stand-alone issue, which is why it has developed the Ringwood CAD Stage 2 Parking Strategy. The strategy includes a range of policies and actions that address the future parking needs of residents and visitors to the Ringwood CAD,” Cr Makin said.

The strategy, which contains 13 strategy policies, has four main aims:

• Improve management of on-street car parking to achieve optimum use and turnover of car parks.
• Maximise the availability and awareness of existing parking by better managing demands and encouraging alternative transport modes such as walking, cycling and public transport.
• Manage the provision of off-street parking for new and existing land uses.
• Encourage good design principles to minimise the amount of land used by car parking at ground level.

Stage 2 of the Ringwood CAD Parking Strategy Report was completed in September. It follows the completion of the report’s first stage, which provided a snapshot of existing parking within the CAD, established occupancy levels, assessed commuter parking, identified areas to tackle and manage parking as the CAD develops, and provide the platform and direction for the development of a parking strategy.

Ringwood is one of six designated CADs in the State Government’s strategy, Melbourne 2030: Planning for Sustainable Growth. The CAD program aims to create a vibrant and sustainable town centre encompassing retail, commercial, residential, leisure, entertainment and community activities, which will be accessible from surrounding areas by an integrated transport network.

For more information on Ringwood’s transformation into a CAD, visit www.ringwoodgoingplaces.com.au