Good news for Victoria Street traders and customers: Yarra City Council has agreed to continue the one-hour free parking arrangement for another year, through to June 2027.
The one-hour free parking initiative was introduced to make it easier for people to visit Victoria Street, Bridge Road and Swan Street, support local businesses and encourage regular turnover of parking spaces.
For Victoria Street, accessible parking remains particularly important.
Our precinct is made up largely of small businesses — restaurants, grocers, bakeries, health services, retailers and family-run businesses. Many customers come to Victoria Street for a quick meal, groceries, an appointment or to collect something from a local shop.
One hour of free parking gives customers an important incentive to stop, visit and spend locally.
Now traders need to help demonstrate its value
The next 12 months are important.
If Victoria Street traders want one-hour free parking to become a stronger and more permanent part of the precinct, we need good evidence about how it is working.
The Victoria Street Business Association encourages traders to:
Tell us whether customers are using the free hour.
Share customer feedback about parking.
Tell us whether it has made visiting Victoria Street easier.
Encourage customers to correctly activate their free parking session at the meter or through PayStay.
Participate when Council or VSBA asks for feedback about the program.
Under the current system, customers must still start a parking session, even when staying for less than one hour. The free hour applies to eligible paid parking areas, with normal parking time restrictions continuing to apply.
Parking is only one part of revitalising Victoria Street
Free parking alone will not solve every challenge facing the precinct.
It needs to work alongside better safety, cleaner streets, stronger business promotion, events, investment, reduced vacancies and improvements to the overall visitor experience.
But making Victoria Street easier and more affordable to visit is a practical step.
The coming year gives traders, customers and Council an opportunity to better understand what works and what can be improved.
If you are a Victoria Street trader, please share your experience with VSBA.
The stronger the information we can provide about customer behaviour, business activity and parking usage, the better informed future decisions about the program can be.
Victoria Street Business Association
